I don’t fly very often, now that I’ve retired. In fact, due to skipping 2020, in the four years since I retired, I’ve taken three flights. I haven’t forgotten how the process works. I still subscribe to a travel newsletter, and I still pay attention to changes at the airports I encounter.

Along those lines, I renewed my TSA Pre account. One of the changes that were made at BDL (my home airport), is that they built a new TSA Pre security entrance—brand new—just opened last month. There were only three of us in that line at the ungodly hour that I arrived at the airport. We cleared the officer’s review and placed our carry-on stuff on the belt. We walked through the scanner and waited for our stuff.

Our stuff didn’t come out.

According to the conversations we overhead, the X-ray unit wasn’t transmitting images to the operator’s console. You might be surprised to learn, as I did, that those multi-million dollar X-ray units come with not one, but two extendable hooks so the operators can yank bags and trays out of the unit. I can’t help but imagine the infomercial for those units — “Buy now and we’ll throw in a second extendable retrieval hook, absolutely free!

Our stuff was pulled out, moved back to the input area and moved to a different unit (which wasn’t in use yet). After the other unit was working, our bags were processed. Before I got my bag, the supervisor showed up and started yelling.

“Why are you guys using that unit?”

The operator explained the problem. The supervisor, as supervisors are wont to do, offered his thoughts on how to solve this problem:

“Shut it off and turn it back on!”

TSA Supervisor for One-Liner Wednesday by Linda G. Hill

The photos in today’s gallery are from my travel through three airports last week as I made my way to Des Moines, Iowa (DSM) from Hartford, Connecticut (BDL) via Detroit, Michigan (DTW). Below my regular advertising is a musical treat for this post.

All five of my current books are now available in audio book form thanks to Amazon KDP’s Virtual Voice process. The voice is AI generated, but I can honestly say, it’s pretty darn good. The audio books are reasonably priced (all below $7 US) and, if you already own the Kindle version and want to add an audio version, you can do that for $1.99. There is a five-minute sample on the book page for each book. If you’re interested, click on any of the Dreamer’s Alliance book links below the image or on the link below for my latest book.

Bridge to Nowhere

There are many songs that could accompany today’s title. I chose one that fits well, and I love it. If the Dreamer’s Alliance Series had a sound track, it would be provided by Creedence Clearwater Revival.

71 responses to “Travelin’ Man”

  1. Travelling is a lot of fun, but so stressful at the same time. Looks like you’re having a great time with all the sky photos, Dan.
    You got me head banging with that song. Haha

    Liked by 1 person

    1. It is stressful, Teresa, but it’s good to see family. Creedence will get you moving.

      Liked by 1 person

  2. petespringerauthor Avatar
    petespringerauthor

    “Shut it off and turn it back on again.” That’s why boss gets paid the big bucks.

    Liked by 4 people

    1. Haha, you got it, Pete! Have a good day.

      Liked by 1 person

  3. Also travelling less these days but I loved the bit of Creedence which which you tacked on on at the end. From 54 years ago can you believe? Thanks, I enjoyed that.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. One of the first albums I ever bought. It is amazing.

      Like

  4. Thanks for sharing Dan 👍 You these sky photos. Anita

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I’m glad you like them, Anita.

      Like

  5. Great story, hope it’s in the note book for a future adventure book. So many typical travel images but have your eye.
    Like the escalator. The ones I take look like elevators with people. Yours is a scene of action. The curved wall and the checked floor help, the balance works well.
    I saw a lizard standing up to make itself look big and scary, an elephant just above the lizard. On the opposite photo, there’s a ducks head in the middle looking left 😁
    In case you didn’t understand….this post 👍😁

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thanks Brian. I’ll check that cloud for the lizard.

      Liked by 1 person

  6. Airports, security, travelling…. Tell

    me about it Dan. Great photos Dan very artistic especially the clouds lots of angels in the sky and the flag and fountain look amazing 💜💜

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I know you’ve been through this, Willow. I hope you’re having a good week.

      Liked by 1 person

  7. Reading this at the airport in Alicante for my long journey to Calgary Alberta. Thanks for the chuckle and CCR

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I’m on my way to Des Moines right now. I hope we both enjoy safe, uncomplicated travels, especially you, as you’re going much farther.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. thanks. Now in Amsterdam. One leg done. Sigh.

        Liked by 1 person

        1. I’m in Detroit, on my way to Hartford. Is Toronto your next stop?

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          1. The other side of the country, Vancouver. Now in Calgary and later in Medicine Hat to see the grandkids!!

            Liked by 1 person

            1. I hope you have a wonderful visit.

              Liked by 1 person

  8. Colourful start to your adventures, Dan. Life- stranger than fiction! And I love that soundtrack- try to stop your toes tapping to that!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thanks Jo. I love the sky out here. Creedence always gets me moving.

      Liked by 1 person

  9. With the kind of stories and experiences I keep hearing, I’m not sure if I will be comfortable if I ever get to travel via flight. Even Sarah had done flight travel before our marriage and she too had a bit of an awkward experience. I think even if I had the money I would rather choose train travel, maybe buy a first-class coupe and enjoy our tiny cabin ride instead of flying.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I would always choose trains over flying, but we don’t have nearly as many rail choices for travel here, Sharukh. Anything on the Eastern Corridor, I always take the train, but taking a train to Iowa from Connecticut is difficult to schedule.

      Liked by 1 person

  10. Your sunrise images are wonderful! Air travel, not so much. Getting there is NOT half the fun, not these days. However, often people and places on the other end make it all worthwhile. As for that extendable retrieval hook, I can’t help wondering if the next step to make it work would be kicking it.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. At least my flights were all on time and my luggage arrived at the same time as I did. I’ll put that in the win column. Kicking it was fast becoming an option for this crew, especially after they were yelled at.

      Liked by 1 person

  11. I don’t care how high tech the technology is, rebooting is always your best bet.
    Waves good morning to the thirsty bunny

    Liked by 1 person

    1. It’s always my first choice.

      The bunny says Hi, and wants you to know he has plenty of fresh water.

      Liked by 1 person

  12. Your photos have a perfect feel of an airport at a desolate time. Wonderful. As for the officer’s line, that works very often with complex machines. It’s a bit like the “wisdom” that an older generation had about hitting a machine which didn’t work: it still works on some vending machines.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thanks! I think these guys were getting ready to hit the machine. It’s new, the whole scanning section is new, and not everything as all the bugs worked out.

      Liked by 1 person

  13. Restart – I love it. Thanks for starting my day with a chuckle. :-) I haven’t flown anywhere in several years now so I’m guessing I’d be like a deer in a headlight with changes. Hope you had a great week.

    Like

    1. Thanks Judy. Sometimes, you have to laugh. Only traveling one a year, I get caught off guard by some of the changes. At least at DSM, the coffee vendors are open before 5:00 am.

      Liked by 1 person

  14. Murphy's Law Avatar
    Murphy’s Law

    Thanks for Creedence. My toes are still tapping!

    In the medical world it’s “take an aspirin and call me in the morning “. In the world of technology it’s “reboot and you’re good to go”!

    Beautiful sunrise shots Dan. What a wake up call they present.

    I see people and a bird, but still looking for the bunny!

    Fantastic shot of the fountain!

    Ginger🦋

    Liked by 1 person

    1. You’re right, Ginger. It is like “take an asprin and call me” or perhaps, “put the lime in the coconut and drink ‘em both up.” Apparently, it worked.

      The sky out here is always interesting. I see the bunny (standing) under the bird, but it’s a stretch.

      I hope you have a good slide down the hump.

      Like

  15. Dan, your post contains yet another example of why flying these days can be a nightmare. Love the colorful photos!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thanks Dave. There always seems to be something. Otherwise, all flights were on time and my luggage and I arrived together. I’m counting it as a win.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. If the majority of things go right with a flight, it is a win indeed!

        Liked by 1 person

  16. haha, an computer tech’s favorite line, “Have you tried shutting your computer off and back on again?” I’ve heard it a multitude of times! (for the HD TV box as well).

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I “fixed” problems for 42 years with that advice, GP.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. And I believe it!!

        Like

  17. Beautiful sunrise. It is often good to have a window seat.

    I sometimes resort to the shut it off and start it up again way to fix stuff. Unless getting it started is the problem.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I normally try for an aisle seat, at least on the first leg, Frank. That was the best available seat, and it does have some benefits. I did have one old computer that took so long to boot up, I never wanted to shut it off.

      Liked by 1 person

  18. I will look into getting a TSA pass thingy. Love your post – story and pics.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. It has saved me a lot of time, Sherry, and I think it’s easier to get now than it was when it first come out.

      Liked by 1 person

  19. LOL! Reboot! Did you happen still be there when it booted up, and did it work after that I wonder?

    The mornings were lovely with great light and colors. I’m a huge fan of TSP Pre. If I were traveling internationally I’d be getting that Global Entry one that puts one in a different line for customs that’s supposed to be ever so much faster.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I meant TSA…my fingers and brain need more tea to get in sync this morning. 🤦‍♀️

      Liked by 1 person

    2. I was still there because my bag hadn’t been rescanned yet. It did boot up correctly and worked fine.

      I would do the same if I traveled internationally, it is a big time saver..

      Liked by 1 person

      1. At $80 dollars each I think the TSA passes are too expensive for only one use every other year. I think I’ll try my walking canes to get faster service. That worked getting into the airplane. :-)

        Like

  20. These are all beautiful photos, Dan. I always love a supervisor who adds absolutely nothing to the solution and only escalates the tension. I had one like that (my last). Her input to problem identification/solution was the word, “yikes.”

    Liked by 1 person

    1. ”Yikes?” Always helpful. I guess his management training didn’t include “Keep calm and keep others calm.”

      Liked by 1 person

      1. No, panic was the rule of the day.

        Liked by 1 person

  21. Reboot! I’m imaging so many retired people hearing that and smiling to themselves. That is so funny, Dan.

    The skies in all your photos are beautiful! Oh, my goodness–just lovely.

    But I think my favorite photo is of terminals A/B/C in Detroit. All that motion…!!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thanks Lois. I think Detroit has to be the home of the “just barely enough time to make your flight” layover. I’ve been through there with 45 minute layovers. Everyone is moving fast.

      Te skies in Iowa are always interesting.

      Like

  22. Perfect one-liner! Works more often than not. lol

    Liked by 1 person

    1. It does. He could have left the attitude at home, but…

      Like

  23. That one-liner is spoken like a true professional. :) Ha!! Fun post and great photos!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I think we’ve all worked for that guy, Jan. Thanks.

      Liked by 1 person

  24. Ah yes, Dan. “Turn it off, turn it back on.” The elixir of life. I have not flown in I don’t know how long, but recently Mrs. Chess and I got our “Real ID’s” in the event we choose to do so again. My air travel history has always been challenging, but I was younger and much more impatient than I am now. So…perhaps any future trips will be less of a pain…and dare I dream actually enjoyable? Traveling by air for me is still an instance where I think the destination will always be better than the journey.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I think you’re right, Bruce. It’s still amazing but not enjoyable.

      Liked by 1 person

  25. I didn’t know the TSA Pre had a new process, Dan. I’ve flown only once in the last two years since our move to Portland. You had an interesting encounter with the X-ray machine. Beautiful shots at the airports.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. The process is the same, it’s just that they relocated it in our airport.

      Liked by 1 person

  26. Turn it off and turn it back on. Best advice and usually works like a charm. Love the sky photos! I see an angel on top, then underneath a person followed by two birds. 😀

    Like

  27. I remember when things used to be so simple! Now we have to reboot everything! Amazingly beautiful photographs Dan. Thank you for sharing those!

    Like

  28. Gwen M. Plano Avatar
    Gwen M. Plano

    I love your one-liner, Dan. Before retirement, I had to call the tech department whenever the computer acted up. Well, their first response was, “Shut it off and turn it back on.” To this day, I follow that directive whenever there’s a tech problem at our house. Most of the time, the practice solves the problem. 😊 Your photos are incredible – as always. Have a great week!

    Like

  29. The last time that we flew was two years ago to look at houses back in California. (at that time we lived in TX), and it was stressfull, because we had a layover on Colorado and hubby left his carkeys at the counter, and on our flight back, he left keys (included our housekey!) at the airport. So we had to stay at a hotel overnight because we could not get into our house. No more flights for a while:)
    By the way, I saw you copyrighted your photos – that’s what I should do:)

    Like

  30. Ahhh, the ole hard booty to the rescue. Love it. Great images, Dan. Have a safe trip.

    Like

  31. Love the sunrise photos Dan. I have to admit, after seeing that bad turbulence from London to Singapore, it’s made me more nervous, although you still have more chance of being hit by a car.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. It’s true, Wayne, but flying seems less fun every year.

      Liked by 1 person

  32. Sometimes the answer to a problem is so obvious. I haven’t flown in years now but I suspect I’d catch onto it again, knowing there will always be problems.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I think you would. The basic process is the same.

      Liked by 1 person

  33. I love airport pictures. I took a few too. I never get many as I always sleep most of the time on planes. Its a curse. I have all these great plans to read and do other things but I just cannot stay awake.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Actually, it’s a good thing. I wish I could sleep.

      Like

  34. Great sky photos….and that’s always the first thing I do when technology is giving me a hard time. Sometimes it even works. (K)

    Like

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