Connecting through PHL Tuesday night I popped into the Cibo (spelling?) Wine Bar and Cafe on the B Concourse for dinner during a 2.5 hour layover. Ordered and to my amazement was given a placesetting with metal fork and knife (the real thing)...I questioned the bartender about how they were allowed to do that and he just shrugged and said "what, you gonna us a budda knife to take over a plane?"

I find this amazing given that Monday night when my wife and I were re-entering security after clearing customs in PHL a rent-a-frisker wanted to take my wife's 1.5 inch eiffel tower refrigerator magnet she bought at CDG and my sewing kit because of pre-threaded needles...

"Take me to Havana or I will lower your hem!"

What point does all the hassling of passengers out front serve if you can arm yourself inside security???

After finding a supervisor to approve our dangerous cargo, we were allowed to pass with our belongings intact.

Last night leaving out of PHL, I noticed the big "NO KNIVES OF ANY KIND BEYOND SECURITY" sign by the scrutiny stations...and I just chuckled...it was a "Dennis Miller" kind of moment.

Will the wonder of it all ever cease to amaze me?

[This message has been edited by mwp2paris (edited 11-17-2001).]

I noticed that at the Salt Lick restaurant in Austin's airport all the nastily sharp knives the cooks use are attached to the floor with a security cable. I never noticed if they were like that pre 9-11 though.

mwb2paris: I ate at the same place in PHL on 11/8, but noticed no knives at all, for me or anyone else. I was wondering how they prepared the obviously sliced-in-two wrap-sandwiches or how the lettuce gets cut. Perhaps with captive-knives as hauteboy observed.

As for your "Dennis Miller" moment, based on my experience there, you could add "PHL-Security" to the long list of infamous oxymorons.

I find even more interesting the fact that the PHL Envoy Lounge still has metal knives (the same ones that used to be on the planes for meal service) and no attempt is made to keep track of them.

My latest visit was just a few days ago and when I asked, no one seemed concerned!!

Air France in C class last week DUS-CDG was using the same metal cutlery as pre-9/11. OTOH, AMS Schilpol airport had only plastic at the airside bars/sandwich shops.

The plastic cutlery use seems to be very inconsistent.

Every morning I collect all the soap, shampoo, and sewing kits and toss them in my luggage. Every 6 months or so, I take it all to a local battered women's shelter and donate it. This means that every week I fly with at least 3 or 4 of the "pre-threaded needle" sewing kits, in the plastic laundry bag along with the soap, shampoo, lotion, etc.

I've yet to be stopped. I've also yet to be stopped about the nail clippers that are in my laptop bag, every week since the 11th.

They always want to frisk me and look at the batteries in my cell phone, but don't seem to care about my real "weapons".

Last night at TGI Friday's in Concourse B at ATL (inside security), I sawed my New York strip steak with a plastic knife.

I wonder if airport restaurants are selling less number steaks after the plastic knife directive.

My mom was stopped with the sewing needle last week...She told them to keep the thing...

But here's the puzzler to me...

Cleaned out my laptop bag yesterday that I had carried on and gone through security since 9/11 in:

Saginaw MI (3 times), Tokyo (twice), Hong Kong, San Fran, Phoenix, and Orlando.

In this bag I discovered, not one, but 2 pocketknifes...Very small (maybe 1.5 inch blades and they're on a keychain), buried in my bag that definitely pre-dated 9/11. But with them taking sewing needles and nail clippers, I dunno how these passed through so many times. Scary thought if you ask me, especially the international airports.