This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Health & Fitness

"The President is in the Area" - Really?

When the President is 'in the area' everyone / everything freezes in place .....

So I'm sitting on an Alaska Airlines flight last week from LAX to Loreto.  The plane is nearly full, we've been instructed to turn off our cell phones, laptops, headphones, iPods .. anything that remotely resembles fun.  We are seat-belted into our non-reclining barely-wide-enough-for-a-small body (not to mention the large man next to me) assigned slots and the door has been closed.  We are ready to go.  The captain turns on the engine -- starts his 'captain' speil over the loudspeaker -- when suddenly the engine stops, the door re-opens, and we are informed that, "the President is in the area."

Really?  And what exactly does that have to do with us?

Unless someone on the flight was able to sneak through some other venue to get on that small plane bound for Baja, we've been through the security hell at the checkpoint.

As usual, shoes came off, watches, phones, belts, sweaters, coats and were stuffed in bins to go through the xray machine.  This particular morning, they directed me into the full body machine.  I was instructed to raise my hands in the air, turn them in a particular direction, face the wall and HOLD STILL while they zapped me with whatever radon they could toss.

After the 'photograph', I was asked if I had on a belt?  No.  I raised my stretch top to reveal a stretch unbelted skirt.  No metal parts. No underwire bra.  Didn't matter to the grumpy HSA lady.  She wanted more, so had me 'spread 'em' and patted me down top/front (yes, those are my boobs - yes, those are my inner thighs, yes, that is my belly), and then directed me to reclaim my thoroughly x-rayed belongings. 

Profile : I am 62 years old with silver streaked hair.  I was traveling alone.

Back on the plane : When the pilot says we can't leave the gate because the President is in the area, I'm like, what?  We've all been sanitized - including the crew and plane.  What exactly is it we can't we do?  Oh, we can't leave the gate.  We can't leave the airport.  

If the President in the area means we have to freeze, how can anyone ever go near the White House?  What happens to travel on the freeway system?  This doesn't quite make sense.  He has like a million body guards - doesn't he?

We were stuck at the gate on the plane in our seats for 40 minutes to accomodate whatever Obama was in the midst of doing.  And they didn't even offer free drinks after we finally were released.  Just saying ...

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?