03 April 2013

Aged by 10 years

Yesterday when I arrived in Charlotte, after a very smooth and comfortable flight from Paris, I of course had to go through passport control, baggage claim, baggage re-check, and then security before I could get out into the main part of the airport and then down to the gate for my second flight.

At security, I was putting my watch and wallet, belt and jacket into those white plastic trays that go through the x-ray machine, when I noticed that some people were taking their shoes off and others weren't. I looked at the young attendant and said: "Do I need to take my shoes off too?"

He looked down at my shoes, and then examined me visually all the way up to my head and said: "Well, people over 75 don't have to remove their shoes."  That deflated my ego. Seventy-five! I looked at him and told him I felt older than 75 right at that moment, but I didn't qualify. So I went ahead and took my shoes off before they did the full-body scan. I passed.

I'm not set up yet to do photo editing, so I'll work on that this morning as I recover from jet lag and take it easy. Hope you don't feel 75 this morning (unless of course you are 75, but even then...).

12 comments:

  1. Glad you made it safely. Security is a pain in the you know what...

    When I get up in the morning, I feel like two hundred, it's only later that I feel like only one hundred!

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  2. Ohhhhhh, that's a funny one :)) Seriously, notice he didn't say, "YOU don't have to, since people over 75 don't have to." And, anyway, these young folks... they are a terrible judge of age!

    I hope you enjoy your day!

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  3. I'll bet u wanted to deck the guy....welcome to NC......

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  4. Hmmm, maybe I can pass since my white hair ages me at least 10 years. Might be worth a try!

    That young fella doesn't know that we are forever young in our hearts!

    LOL CHM

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  5. Welcome home! Please say hello to New Bern for me. Did you fly Paris, Charlotte, New Bern on USAir? I'm leaving Sun, flying through Charlotte to Paris.

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  6. oh no! well - sorry for the "rough landing." i think you look - and sound - like a solid 45. welcome to the US! :-D

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  7. Young people can be so cruel without realising it.
    One day, someone will say something similar to him and it will hurt. That's if there's any justice in the world.....

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  8. I was told it was 70, but either way, I qualify.

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  9. Ken, Just keep acting your shoe size... metric if you want to be serious... American, or English, if you just want to have fun!!

    There is a gardener of 104 in the UK who is giving out gardening tips on twitter... he is still gardening and uses a hand grab to pick up things he drops... and his great-grandchildren for dead-heading!!

    Keep on Truckin'

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  10. I suppose the cheeky monkey was in that barely-out-of-the-pram age where anyone over 40 is merely waiting for the undertaker. But we know better, do we not?

    (By the way, it's SNOWING in London again).

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  11. I had to reread your blog to get the joke - I must have been still back in Paris (after seeing your photos!).
    Well - I'm with you - I'll easily wait that additional 10 years so I won't have to take off my shoes rather than have someone think I'm 75 now!

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  12. Autolycus, friends who live near Raleigh in North Carolina, 150 miles inland, report that they had sleet there today. We just got rain out here on the coast.

    Mary, oui, je suis d'accord...

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