by Thomas Thorspecken
Albany Airport in New York State, had some very serious security measures. When I went through the full body scan, my crotch showed up as a bright red block on the security screen. I had to be patted down. The security officer explained that he was using the back of his hand when he patted my groin and the inside of my calves. I turned back and front to have my aching leg muscles patted down. It was exciting, but he missed the weapon in my pants. What they really missed was a can of bug spray that I had mistakenly left in my art bag. That stuff is probably a flame thrower. I didn’t discover the bug spray until I got back to my home studio.
The flight out of Albany New York was delayed by an hour because of thunderstorms in Orlando, Florida. While we waited on the tarmac, I sketched. Rather than having TV screens on the back of seats, this plane had adjustable holders for people’s cell phones. People could attach to the internet and play movies on their cell phones. They had to have ear phones however which were not supplied. The two Germans next to me didn’t understand the flight attendant warnings about not playing video audio out loud. They eventually understood and stopped watching the Disney Feature Animation movie, Encanto.