Where to begin?

With every trip I take there seems to be common factors of what the traveler should and should not do, half of these are written in large lettering with bold type font and all kinds of exclamation marks, others are yelled out to you as you enter the security screening lines and checkpoints, but the worst ones are simply what you are not told and find out when some large guy with a mean stare is getting pissed off at you for not already knowing.

That’s OK, you’re not alone, and everybody at first gets yelled at for not knowing how to read minds and relying on people to tell them what to do. We’re only human and not necessarily smart in the eyes of the representatives that herd us through the rope lines like we’re cattle being brought in for the slaughter. This is where a little bit of knowledge comes in handy, there are things to know about and things to practice heavily while traveling through these security check points, most of it is learned as you go, and only some of it is common sense. I personally have witnessed both of these situations come to a bad conclusion for some poor person being taken aside for some rubber glove love, If only they had listened and or used common sense, this might not have happened.

The most important thing of all lessons that will blend themselves into your memory after reading anything I have to say is that you should always have your passport/identification and boarding pass ready for inspection, it will be checked an average of 5 times before you make it to your gate. You can opt to wear the odd-looking neck hanger that makes you look more like a tourist then you probably want, or go for the much simpler and still yet effective “it’s in my hand” statement.