Baggage Check

I sent my daughter, aged 10, to the US to visit her grandparents. On the way back, she goes through the usual routine.

First the security officer asks her if she prefers Hebrew or English. She says she doesn't care, so he asks her in Hebrew, "Who packed your bags?"

"What?" He repeats the question in English, but she still gives him a look like: "What?" Grandma explains they packed together.

"Did anyone give you anything to bring back with you?" (She's just spent 3 weeks with grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins.)

"Yes."

And so it goes. Apparently she did manage to pass security despite the suspicious gifts of girly toys, clothing, Webkinz, and Hershey's shower gel (don't ask).

I guess, at the end, she understood why she was asked those silly questions. I wonder how many times it will take before she figures it out and does the same as all of the rest of us. That is, if asked if anyone gave her anything, she'll say "No", irregardless of how many presents were showered on her by grandparents.

Come to think of it, shouldn't it arouse suspicions when someone travels to family and tells security that nobody gave them anything to bring back? What kind of cheap family do you have? You came all the way out here and they didn't give you ANYTHING?

How about over Christmas break? If you traveled somewhere for Christmas, and you tell the security guy that nobody gave you anything to bring back, shouldn't that arouse suspicion? Shouldn't you be immediately detained for resisting the authorities?

It's time we put an end to this rampant lawlessness. From now on, when we get to the airport, we should give detailed lists of each and every person who gave us something and what they gave us. If we all join the truthfulness campain, we could probably increase the required personnel by 20%, doing our part to combat global unemployment.