I decided to pack my Ghostbuster gear for a possible fan film. My friend John, back in Texas, was toying with the idea of doing one around the many oil derricks that cover our hometown.
It?s three am because I like to book cheap flights and my cheap flights always seem to be at impossible hours and days. It?s Wednesday. Personally, I would like to fly out either at the beginning or end of the week not the middle.
In goes my backpack with my ecto-goggles, utility belt, uniform and my laptop. The scanner does about six scans of my bag and then I?m informed they have to search my bag.
Now, I?ve carried expensive pencils before. Those tend to come in cases made of lead and so Superman can?t see through it with his x-ray vision. I figure I accidentally packed something like that again.
First, the woman isn?t gentle. When is the airport ever gentle? The front of my ecto-goggles are completely ripped off when she drops them. She eyes the belt which consists of the leather tape holder, sound-card chip, remote control motherboard and some lights glued together.
?What?s this??
I realize this woman has completely wasted my time. Not only that, but she?s killed my ecto-goggles (paint went it when the lenses met the ground).
?It?s a prop. As in it doesn?t do anything.?
?You can go.?
I tossed the goggles into the trash and now I sit in the airport.
The trouble that I would put in fixing them re-gluing, repainting… I can just do when I’m in Texas on a new pair. In retrospect, I shoulda kept the connector-screw bit… but I was peeved.
Man, crazy story! Sorry to hear that…at least you didn’t walk into the airport and get dropped for something else, LIKE the pack lol
…it’s a BOMB!!!
It’s actually kinda funny when people don’t know, or simply REMEMBER, the movie and look at the pack and uniform…i’ve gotten so many different remarks…
“Is that one of those vacuum cleaners?”
…“OH, sweet! It’s a James Bond Jet Pack, right!?”…
“Whoa dood, is that thing electrical? It’s got all these, like, Warning labels and stuff on it”
it’s hilarious! . . . one day you’ll look back and laugh quite hard!
Heh. There tends to be a problem with, shall we say, overly pushy panhandlers in my neck of the woods at times(why can’t they go after the people who look like they have money to give away?!). I was coming back on the subway in full gear a few years ago (this was way before all the security hassles now) and didn’t get bothered once
Now, of course, I’d probably wind up getting arrested when some yahoo on the T thinks my proton pack is a bomb (if I didn’t get tackled by overenthusiastic transit police on just setting foot inside the station).
Individual pieces of props, I have had no problem getting past various security as it doesn’t look like much of interest. Haven’t tried to take anything fully assembled though.
Kinda funny you mention that. I wore my uniform with the pack and goggles on Halloween to my high school, and I was called down to Dr. Staryak’s (the principal) office because one of the teachers said I had a bomb strapped to my back. When I arrived, he looked at me, laughed, and sent me on my way.
Hey Spooky.. you would have smacked her?.. yea dude.. and got your happy A$$ Smacked Straight to the friggin Concrete .. you gotta realize lads that during sept 11 .. terrorists Hijacked airplanes with Utility Knives …no bomb, no gun, not even bad breath.. Utility Knives..
If I were you, I’d send her a bill for the price of the goggles. Those were private property, and she destroyed them either through incompetence or uncaring. Either way, she should pay for them, even if it was an accident.
It may be possible to file a claim for damaged luggage, although I’m not sure if the claim process covers carryon (since technically it is in your possession) as well as checked. You’d probably need to contact the airport in any case.
Next time, call the airline beforehand and tell them that you will be bringing breakable theatrical props as carryon luggage, and ask what the procedure is (different screening protocol, etc). My mom travels with artist paints, and there is a detailed procedure for that.
