My flight home

Flying back to Chicago from New York turned out to be an all-day thing. My flight was scheduled for 1:20pm, but rain in the New York area delayed the flights the whole day. Even so, Gen had to take me to the airport with enough time to drive back and pick up Miles at school, so we left around noon for the airport even though my flight had been pushed back to 3pm.

She got me there with no problem, we said our weepy goodbyes (I love you, Gen!) and I was off to try to find my way back home.

Luckily, there are lots of flights going to Chicago from New York. The nice ticketing agent got me on a 2:10pm flight leaving from gate B4 and I had no bags to check, so I was on my way.

I got myself over to the security line, threw my stuff on the little conveyor belt, and got ready to walk through the scanner. It wasn't until I was in the scanner that I realized that it wasn't the normal arch we all walk through but it was the new scanner I had been hearing about--that backsplatter or whatever it's called. That one where they make you hold your hands up and they take a low-level x-ray of your whole body. And just as I'm realizing where I am and what is happening, the TSA agent is telling me to stand very still for just a second and he's hitting the button. And I'm just obeying and doing what he tells me to do, but inside I'm thinking that I don't want to go through this scanner. I know that already.

See, I already made a decision about this scenario. I'd read about how there are these new scanners and they are supposed to give you a very low-level dose of radiation---the equivalent to the amount of radiation you will get on the flight itself after only two minutes at altitude. They say they are very safe and they are quite effective at detecting guns and explosives and other bad stuff that people bring on airplanes.

But if you're not convinced and you don't feel comfortable going through these scanners... maybe because you're worried about the radiation or because you don't like them taking a naked picture of you... then you can opt out. You can choose to have an "enhanced" pat down. During an enhanced pat down, a TSA agent will thoroughly feel you up. They will make very, very, very sure that you are not hiding anything. Anywhere.

So I decided immediately after hearing about these two options that there is no contest. Of COURSE I would rather have someone feel me up than give me a dose of radiation. Those are my choices?!? Let someone put their hands all over my body or walk through a machine that may or may not give me cancer? I'm sorry, those are not choices. People pay good money for enhanced pat downs.

Except that when I wasn't in the hypothetical and I was actually in the scanner, I didn't think of any of that. I just did what the guy told me to do. I raised my hands up and stayed very still while he pressed the button. So I ended up with a (very low, nothing to worry about) dose of radiation. And I fretted and worried about it and I called Greg from the gate and made him talk me down and assure me that everything will be fine in his let's-take-a-moment-to-deal-with-Lisa's-irrational-fears kind of way that he does so well.

And I got over it. I'm sure I got a very low dose of radiation and I know I get all kinds of doses of radiation all day long just from living on this earth. But next time I will be prepared and I will be asking for the pat down. No question.