Greg Getzan, age 35, 3:15p.m., December 20, 2003

My newlywed, Mariah, and I landed in New York yesterday so we could visit my family for the Christmas holiday and all its cheers. However, since that attack on the twin towers the airplane system has been a pain in the butt. My wife and I had to stand in line at the airport for nearly 50 minutes just to be checked in and get through security. I almost had not made the flight because I had not gauged our timeline well enough. According to this article I had read it stated, “Most of the new regulations proposed security of the baggage and the passengers on the plane. According to the TSA, as quoted in the article by Gerald L. Dillingham, "[The TSA has] confiscated more than 4.8 million prohibited items (including firearms, knives, and incendiary or flammable objects) from passengers" (2003, p. 8). The Department of Homeland Security has also backed up this fact by stating "airport screeners have, since February 2002, intercepted more than 7.8 million items, including 1,437 firearms, 2.3 million knives, and 49,331 box cutters - the terrorists' weapon of choice on 9-11. Attempts at concealment included razor blades hidden in tennis shoes (Gips, 2003)” (Taylor). This had shocked me and after I read it I appreciated what the TSA does to make our country the safest it can be. May God Bless America!

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