Last week I traveled to Southern California and San Francisco. It was a trip I planned weeks in advance, but almost never experienced. I have such a low tolerance for hassles and risk of things going haywire these days, that it's always a temptation to just stay put and avoid the situations that are hard to control. Of course, the idea that anything the universe arranges for us is ever controllable by our puny efforts is a foolish notion, and anything we can do to become more comfortable with the inevitable chaos of life should be embraced.

So I set aside some of my last-minute reluctance and decided that I would proceed, but lopping off half the trip up North, and keeping the flight to LA - which involved non-refundable tickets for air, rail, and shuttle transport. My inherent cheapness won out over my aversion to travel. I also wanted to see my Mexican friend Manuel in Oxnard, and his family. After the first day there, I felt very remorseful about abandoning my trip to the Bay Area, and with it my opportunity to see a number of friends I had looked forward to seeing (and who - bless their hearts - were looking forward to seeing me). With Pat's encouragement and assistance, I rearranged the remaining air travel to put myself In San Francisco for a few days, as originally planned.



One of the reasons I avoid air travel is the experience of being processed by the airport security gauntlet - I perceive this to be a form of theater designed to condition citizens to being intimidated and bullied, an objective seemingly higher than any real security value. It feels like exploitation of the traveling public to reinforce the culture of fear that has been so useful in diminishing civil liberties in recent years.



Going through LA airport security, I removed my belt, shoes, watch, and emptied my pockets of keys and change into the bin for the xray scanner as I approached the checkpoint. I passed through the metal detector portal with no alarm, holding an empty 12 ounce clear plastic water bottle. "Go back - put that throught the xray scanner.", the unsmiling portal guard ordered. How can I believe this has anything to do with security?

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Tomorrow - palm trees and swimming in the ocean...
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