As I was packing up for this trip to the states, I realized that our supply of red wine was threatening to overflow our fridge. (almost everyone who comes to visit or to join us for a meal, brings a bottle of Macedonia's finest - wine is Macedonia's favorite past time and number two export). Thus I decided to pack a couple of bottles in my suitcase for gifts to give to some of the folks that I will be seeing on this trip.
I was planning to pack them into my check baggage, but the likelihood of them remaining intact for the whole trip was low, and the damage that they would do the clothes in my bag was large. So I put them in my carry-on. Those of you who fly often are already laughing, but if you live in the hairy armpit, these details often escape you. I did not even make through the first security check, when they made me open my bags and they confiscated my two bottles of Macedonia’s finest!
I was not happy. I asked the smirking security officer if he was going to pay me for those two bottles, and his laughter is still echoing in Europe. So I come to the States for a mini-tour de-wined . . . and wine-less. No gifts for my friends ☹
The security risks in life are less concrete than the current paranoia that the airlines and governments of the world are expressing for frequent and non-frequent flyers. The security risks in life are apathy, small-mindedness and self-absorbtion. These elements are barely noticeable in the modern Western world, expected rather than surprising, common rather than rare. These are not only the enemies of one’s soul, but also the enemy of missions. You can’t care about the world, when you don’t care about your neighborhood and city. Caring about yourself doesn’t count in the long run.
I was planning to pack them into my check baggage, but the likelihood of them remaining intact for the whole trip was low, and the damage that they would do the clothes in my bag was large. So I put them in my carry-on. Those of you who fly often are already laughing, but if you live in the hairy armpit, these details often escape you. I did not even make through the first security check, when they made me open my bags and they confiscated my two bottles of Macedonia’s finest!
I was not happy. I asked the smirking security officer if he was going to pay me for those two bottles, and his laughter is still echoing in Europe. So I come to the States for a mini-tour de-wined . . . and wine-less. No gifts for my friends ☹
The security risks in life are less concrete than the current paranoia that the airlines and governments of the world are expressing for frequent and non-frequent flyers. The security risks in life are apathy, small-mindedness and self-absorbtion. These elements are barely noticeable in the modern Western world, expected rather than surprising, common rather than rare. These are not only the enemies of one’s soul, but also the enemy of missions. You can’t care about the world, when you don’t care about your neighborhood and city. Caring about yourself doesn’t count in the long run.
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