Travel - The Good, The Bad and The Unfriendly Skies

I leave on my annual trip in a little over a week. I suppose I should actually take my suitcase from the closet and start to think about what to pack. Maybe? or maybe procrastination is kicking in. How about I just use the Scarlett O'Hara tome - "I'll think about it tomorrow."

Scarlett O'Hara was famous for looking at the worst and
saying that she would think about how to make it all
work "tomorrow". It's not a bad way to conquer fears. 

I'm looking forward to the trip itself - most specifically because I drive out there so I don't have to deal with long lines at the airport, TSA security screening fiascoes, and packing my tools and equipment in a manner that will actually allow them to arrive at my destination in one piece.

It's hard to believe an airline could have successfully used
this tag line in advertising. The friendly skies are a thing
of the past. 

Travel has become unfriendly. I remember commercials about "Fly the Friendly Skies" when I was a child, but the skies are anything but friendly now. Not only are we screened and scrutinized to within an inch, we get to have our luggage examined by complete strangers, and there's always the joy of sharing the flight with a rude, drunken person or a crying child. Admittedly, the child is usually pretty innocent, just can't help it. But the drunk is another matter.

The lines for pre-screening are huge, even if you're a 'preferred'
pre-appproved person. One of my friends from the gym was flying
to Florida yesterday. She anticipated a 2-hour line, and she is
pre-approved. Ick! 

I think, if I was taking workshops across the country now, I'd be shipping my tools and materials ahead of me and have them waiting for my at my hotel or at the location where the workshop would be held. There's something intimidating about tools used for jewelry making. It's not your simple needles and thread used for beadwork. It's files, drills, chemicals and torches, hammers and stakes, and lots of other things that can cause harm to yourself and others. After all, you're moving metal and fabricating this sturdy, reluctantly malleable material into something of beauty. But to do that, you're using heat, pressure, and sharp blows of tools to construct the finished piece. Yeah - I'll send my tools ahead if I ever return to a longer distance venue.

Jewelry tools come in many shapes and types, but all are
used to move and manipulate metal. Screeners don't like
tools like this - they look like a security risk. 

So here's hoping your Friday is wonderful and if you're a US citizen, have a wonderful Memorial Day holiday.