John Y.’s Musings from the Middle: Airport Tele-transporters

Improving Kentucky’s public image.

I try when traveling to help boost how others perceive Kentucky.

No, we aren’t barefoot and uneducated as we are too often portrayed in the media.

To the contrary, I believe we are as shoe-rich and literate as about a…ny other state; and, in fact, have a well above average degree of common sense and common decency.
So last week I was in the big city of Atlanta’s mega-modern airport on my way home. I was going through security and was identified as a random person to do a body scan. I was especially friendly and pleasant about it, and explained I was from Kentucky and hadn’t seen one of these machines before but had seen seen them on TV.

I walked inside the cylindrical contraption and was told to stand in the center, be still, and raise my hands. The doors closed shut. After about 15-20 seconds, the doors re-opened and I was told to walk out the other side.

I did and smiled broadly at the security personnel and said “WowWee! I love fancy technology! Am I back in Kentucky already? I never thought I’d see the day….. but here I am. Just like in Star Trek!”

Now, how did that improve KY’s public image?

1. I indicated I was not only comfortable but excited about new technological advances;
2. I bravely boarded the Transporter; and
3. I referenced the brainy sci-fi show Star Trek.

Not bad, eh?

Footnote:

It turns out I still had to take a plane from Atlanta to Louisville.  Apparently they haven’t worked out all the bugs in the new time travel machine and aren’t as sophisticated in Atlanta as they think they are. But I had the common decency never once to make fun of them.

OK. I joke…I joke.

But the truth of the matter is I did get one of the security personnel to smile (and eventually chuckle to himself). The other remained unresponsive and confused.

Apparently a Tennessean.