I am writing this from up above, onboard Alaska Air flight 602 from Seattle to Las Vegas. Just a couple of hours ago, I was asked to “step right here” – not told that it was an X-Ray line, but I knew when they showed me the foot pattern and to hold my hands up, that they wanted to see me undressed.

I opted for the patdown in a private room, which took about 15 minutes. I had been patted down before, when I was flying with a cast on one foot, but this was definitely a different type of patdown. The woman actually put her hands inside my pants. And she touched me in ways that were astonishing to say the least. I was in tears following.

I continued with my flight, which was in a first-class seat. Breakfast was served and, lo and behold, they gave me real silverware – a butter knife, a fork and a spoon, all glistening in the metallic glory. The last time I flew first-class was after 9/11 when my grandmother died and they gave me a plastic butter knife because the real one was unsafe. That was several years ago and now we have our metal butter knives safely restored to first class. There is hope, there is hope, that we can once again see a day without the porno scanners and the molestations; there is hope, indeed. For if the metal butter knife can be restored, so can our Fourth Amendment rights, right?

Becky Flarity

Buckley