Thanks Lee! I get to see my brother yay! I haven't seen him in 8 months so I'm really looking forward to it.

Here's hoping getting there isn't too much of a hassle.

YAY MSBELLE!

I'd rather see everybody's shampoo randomly screened than just mine because of my religion or lack thereof (they took me into a back room and hand-checked all my luggage, including things like holding my shampoo up to the light).

My brother and his friend were searched, separately interrogated about all their movements (Where did you have dinner? How long did it take to walk there from your hotel? etc.) and then left to cool their heels for a few hours while their answers were compared. They were flying from/back to Moscow, though, which maybe affected where they fell on the security risk chart. (It will not surprise many of you to learn that my bro is not particularly Arab-looking. Nor Chechen, for that matter.)

When I was traveling on El Al last summer (with a tour group that had already pre-screened me), I got about five minutes of questioning. Why was I traveling to Israel (to see stuff), had I ever been to Israel before (no), was I Jewish (yes), what's my Hebrew name (Yehudit), what's the Jewish holiday where you eat matzoh (Passover), did I have a bat mitzvah (yes), how old was I then (12), what was my parsha (Lech L'cha), what happens in that parsha (Abraham lets Pharaoh believe that Sarah is his sister, not his wife), and they asked me to verify my date of birth, place of birth, and middle name several times in the middle of all the other questions.

On the way back, my bag was searched several times. I had a possibly-dangerous t-shirt that every inspector had to look at.

Was it this one: [link] ?

(Sorry, just can't stop laughing at that.)

Oh, I wish my s-i-l was still pregnant.

what was my parsha (Lech L'cha), what happens in that parsha (Abraham lets Pharaoh believe that Sarah is his sister, not his wife)

I'd fail both of those, not least because without your answers as hints, I'd have a hell of a time remembering what a "parsha" was. And all I actually remember about mine was that it was in Genesis and involved speckled goats.

I like it but it also is more different than I would have expected.

less porn, I gather. Ever notice that there's ALWAYS a porn store within walking distance of the post gate?

Best Flickr group ever? Tiny animals on fingers.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaand, it's raining. Really really hard. Naturally, I have no umbrella with me.

Ever notice that there's ALWAYS a porn store within walking distance of the post gate?

I'm trying to recall if this was true of Ft. Hood. I don't think so, at least not at the Killeen gates, but this was after they pretty much shut down the multiple entrances, so there fewer than there used to be. Funny thing about Ft. Hood, though, is that the base was the only place you can buy booze in mmmph miles. It's situated in the middle of a dry county.

Oh, I wish my s-i-l was still pregnant.

For that t-shirt, I wish I was still pregnant!