adventures in connecticut

about a week ago my dad and i decided to take a quick trip up to connecticut to visit our cousins in east haddam. this trip will begin (and end, at least for a while) with a brief foray into photoblogging...

the first picture i took no longer exists, and caused me a brief but exciting altercation with our friendly tsa. we flew out of dulles airport and, at the security checkpoint, i thought that a picture of the security checkpoint search and shuffle would be interesting and an important historical document. besides, i was fidgeting while waiting for a tsa agent to inspect my dad's suspicious velcro shoes. so, i point and snap. immediately i see a tall, concerned tsa agent approach like i just pulled a gun out; i know what's coming. the interaction was surreal:

him: excuse me, ma'am, you have to delete that picture. (in a tone implying i should have known better)
me: why? (i'm caught off guard)
him: because you have to (he's upset i'm asking)
me: why? i mean, i'm deleting it. but seriously - why?
him: because you do
me: why?

i notice another tsa agent putting dad's walmart shoes into a black metal box...

him: because

although i'm beginning to realize my efforts are getting me nowhere, the other guy's still inspecting dad's shoes, so why not? plus, i don't see any reason why i can't take a picture of the checkpoint.

me: but why?
him: because
me: why?
him: because

we go back and forth some more, but i won't try your patience. other passengers are starting to watch. he ignores me and pretends to be distracted by another tsa agent, and then rushes over to help someone with dad's shoes. now they're examining each one very carefully by (wisely) gloved hand. as he meanders over towards me again, i can't resist:

me: excuse me, sir? are you saying you don't have an answer for me?

i figure he's new. it's also possible no one's been weird enough to want to take a picture of the screening area before or weird (stupid?) enough to argue with him about it.

him: because of the x-ray, okay?
me: (i'm thinking "what?!") but sir, that doesn't make any scientific
sense!

he walked away, and, sadly, refused to argue further. i didn't push it, particularly becuase i haven't the slightest clue about x-rays, or his authority to ground me, for that matter. and thus concludes the story of why my first picture disappeared. i'm definitely on someone's list. my cursory internet search for the damaging effects of photo flashes on x-ray machines turned up nothing (except some fascinating articles on high-resolution x-ray photography). of course, he was just making something up, i realize. but he could've done better than that! he could have even justified the rule using passenger privacy concerns.

but, on the bright side, they let me fly again on sunday. so whatever list i'm on, it's not ted kennedy's no-fly list! phew!

"somehow, 'funky' just doesn't cover it"

after getting our rental car we drive down to east haddam and find our lodging: the klar crest resort. my cousin (once removed, as i learned this weekend) gale had described it as a "funky old resort with a big pool" so we decided to give it a try. as we pull up, it looks like a run-down house. a man and a woman are sitting in lawn chairs in the yard, looking curiously, and there's no parking lot. just a yard. they wave.

i look around for the pool. directly behind where we parked (in the yard) there sits a big, peeling, empty pool. after meeting with the folks in the front yard, who turn out to be the proprietors, the man, who looks like jerry stiller's long-lost twin, brings us in to a "front desk." flashbacks to summer camp. he cautions that if we have cell phones, they won't work, but that we should feel free to use the phone at the front desk. so, clearly, no phone in the room. he tells us to get in our car and follow him back to our "cottage."

yes, apparently, no phone. in fact, not much of anything in the room. the room turns out to be half of a cottage reminiscent of a 1950's summer camp and smells like an old book. jerry says "oh, let me get your key" after showing us all the room has to offer (walls, ceiling, bathroom). he brings back a padlock.

our cottage's name is "blueskies," which is appropriate because inspection of our room and ceiling shows we may be seeing that sky if a strong wind comes along.

after jerry takes of in his '89 shadow, dad sums up the whole experience with
one compendious quip: "somehow, 'funky' just doesn't cover it."

klar-security.

the bathroom "door." my question: where's the doorknob? oh, and that sliding
lock didn't work either.

this may have been why our "cottage" leaned downhill.

and now for the point...

we live in a world of imperfect information. if we'd have done more investigating, we'd have discovered that the klar crest wasn't exactly our kind of place. had we more time or patience, we could have looked at an aaa guidebook or questioned gayle further. risking sketchy accommodations instead of spending an additional half an hour on research was a tradeoff. in the end, i wish my dad had chosen the other end of that tradeoff when reserving lodging, but it didn't turn out too badly... luckily.

another point... argue with the tsa, or any government agency, as far as you can get away with it. not only is it amusing, it also forces agents to justify their actions. i'm always amazed how people just go along with whatever someone in a government uniform tells them to do. uniforms lend authority and credibility, and we need to remember that it's not absolute.