Rusty Saber: Inconvenience a small price to pay for airline safety

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Joe McAdoo is former chairman of the communication department at Drury University.|ret||ret||tab|

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Truth be told, flying has never been a comfortable way to travel. Take the first flight by the Wright Brothers, for instance. Nowhere in the history of that auspicious event can be found the slightest mention of how comfortable Orville and Wilbur were before, during or after the flight. |ret||ret||tab|

Granted, that first flight spanned only a few moments and traveled a few hundred feet; the brothers were outside the plane there was no inside one at the controls, the other strapped to the wing to add ballast. |ret||ret||tab|

Oh, sure, modern passengers are seated inside on semi-soft seats, but I'll bet that Orville and Wilbur had more leg room than I did the last time I flew. To me, "comfortable flight" is an oxymoron.|ret||ret||tab|

It's not that the airline industry doesn't deserve some bashing for making most flying experiences miserable ones, but other means of travel can be about as much fun as a rubber crutch. Consider the comfort level of train travel, assuming you there might accidentally be a train going where you want to go. |ret||ret||tab|

If you have traveled cross country by car lately, playing bumper tag with trucks bigger than your house, you know there isn't a lot of on-the-road hilarity. It has been a long time since I have giggled while on a long automobile trip.|ret||ret||tab|

We are paying a high price for our mobility. Flying is the fastest way to get where we are going. The number of travelers has reached the point where everything about flying has become downright uncomfortable. |ret||ret||tab|

Add security checks to the built-in rigors of flying, and it's a major increase to the discomfort index. Before the unspeakable events of Sept. 11, security checks were mostly to search for guns carried by hijackers demanding to be flown somewhere. Of course, bombs have always been a concern. |ret||ret||tab|

Since 9-11, security has become something altogether different. The weapons used by these fanatics to take over the airplanes were box cutters, not illegal at the time. Since then, anything that could be used as a weapon, even nail clippers, is disallowed.|ret||ret||tab|

Heightened security means air travelers may spend more time in security lines, an irksome reality for some. Sure, some passengers may be asked to take off their shoes. This in response to the nut case who came aboard a plane with a bomb in his shoe and tried to light the fuse in flight. |ret||ret||tab|

No one wants to be patted down or to have carry-on bags emptied and searched. But the image on TV of those two airliners being flown into the World Trade Center towers is so etched in my mind that I say, "Take all the time you need."|ret||ret||tab|

Since I have an implanted heart mechanism that would be deprogrammed by the electronic screening devices, I am always searched by hand. They can check my shoes for bombs and go through everything in my carry-on bag. More power to them. |ret||ret||tab|

It wouldn't bother me if airline security checks became far more thorough. I want to be as certain as possible that no would-be martyr has sneaked anything by security that might be used as a weapon. If that means added inconvenience, inconvenience me! |ret||ret||tab|

Passengers who are annoyed by being delayed need to remember the events of 9-11. Instead of carping, show up earlier for flights. Speed up the search of carry-on bags by packing fewer items. |ret||ret||tab|

I am not sure what it might take to make the flying experience more comfortable. However, if passengers are going to be inconvenienced so it will be safer, that's a trade-off I can buy into. |ret||ret||tab|

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