Tom Says: “Watch what you’re packing!”
I’m going to spend a couple of weeks later this summer with my daughter, son in law and two grandchildren in Newfoundland. The youngest is a grand son, but I’ve decided it’s time both he and my granddaughter saw some of the toys that “grumpy” played with when he was a little guy.
I’m thinking about what I should pack and how I should pack it and in fact, I’ve already begun to lay out some of these things. Many, many, years ago when we were kids we all played Cowboys and Indians. Now I know it’s not politically correct today — but that’s how it was then. The cowboys got all dressed up with their six-shooters as the “good guys in white hats” and we went chasing after those Indians.
What was required of Cowboys back then?
Boots, spurs, chaps, vest, a white hat, a badge and of course guns!
Of course they were cap guns, but they looked a whole lot like real guns. As we got a little older, most of us acquired a Daisy B.B. Gun. They were a little smaller than your ordinary single shot .22, but we thought they were pretty realistic looking all the same.
So, what better thing to do than pack them in my luggage and head on out to the airport. Now I know you’re wondering: “Where is he going with this story?” So, here is the conclusion.
Packing those toy guns and trying to get on a commercial airliner in 2008 makes about as much sense as packing a dummy hand grenade in your luggage and trying to get on the same commercial airliner. At this point, you’re probably thinking nobody would be that stupid — you would be dead wrong!
A man who’s name for various reasons, not the least of which is stupidity did precisely that in Saint John earlier this week. Among the things he packed in his luggage for a trip to Toronto was what looked like a hand grenade. It was spotted by security as it went through the x-ray machine. The Saint John Airport ground to a complete halt, staff and passengers were told to immediately leave the building and a flight to Toronto was delayed. Emergency personal were summoned to the airport and Mr. Stupid was detained for a short length of time.
The grenade was discovered to be a dud and after lots of excitement, things at the Saint John Airport returned to normal. Wouldn’t it be interesting to know what was going through this guy’s head, (if anything) when he zippered his suitcase before heading to the airport?
A city police spokesman says no charges will be laid — it seems there’s not a chapter in Canada’s criminal code that covers stupidity.
I’m Tom Young.