An Apple and A Samsung

It was with some hesitation that I packed an apple and a banana (there was not going to be any in-flight service because of the pandemic) in my laptop bag before heading for the airport at the crack of dawn.

Some years ago, after a long transcontinental flight, as I was walking from the immigration area to the baggage carousel, I was stopped by a drug sniffing canine straining at the leash and tugging its TSA (Transportation Security Administration) handler, who looked almost as surprised as I was.

After looking me up and down, and probably sensing that I was an unlikely drug smuggler, he finally asked, “Do you have an apple on you?”

Bemused at the strange question, I replied in the negative, but, remembering, I hastily added, “But I had one on the plane.” (‘Since when is eating a fruit a crime?’ I wondered to myself.)

The TSA Officer visibly relaxed, but had one more question still. “Did you keep that in your jacket pocket at any time?”

“Yes, almost for the entire flight. I consumed it just before deplaning.” I could not help adding, “That’s very Sherlock Holmesian. How did you figure that out?”

“Sniffer canines sometimes confuse the scent of apples with the odor of narcotics.”

With that I was free to rejoin my fellow passengers who had been watching the proceedings with ill-concealed curiosity. Embarrassing, to say the least.

This was the reason for my hesitation about carrying an apple in my laptop bag for the early morning flight.

Sure enough, after my jacket, belt, shoes, Mac, and the bag itself came through the scanner, the TSA officer gestured at my bag and said, “I will take out the apple and run it again.”

Fortunately, there was no further issue, and I collected my things (or so I thought) and went to the waiting area near the gate. A while later, I heard an announcement over the PA system to the effect that some items had been left uncollected in the security area and would their owners come and collect them.

Mentally chiding the careless passengers for forgetting to collect their own belongings, I resumed the paused game of sudoku on my phone. About half an hour later, the pangs of hunger bit me, and I thought it was the right time to have that banana. When I opened my laptop bag to retrieve it, to my utter surprise, I noticed that my shiny new Samsung tablet was not in the bag. I had needed to take only the laptop out at security and my first thought was, ‘O, no! I’ve forgotten the tablet in my hotel room.’

Then I remembered the TSA announcement. I hurried back, and re-entering the security area with some difficulty, was reunited with my beloved Samsung tablet after unlocking it to prove that it was indeed mine.

Walking back to my gate, I realized that the officer at the X-ray machine may have been referring to my Samsung tablet as an Apple (iPad) and not to the edible variety.

Never ask for whom the bell tolls – or scoff at TSA announcements.