 Angela Arwine
Makeup mishap in Montana A note to my reader: The Federal Aviation Administration rules are to be followed. Nothing in this article should be construed as saying otherwise. If we don’t keep some level of humor about the world we live in, we’ll all lose our minds. Also, if any reader happens to be from Montana, I apologize. I am sure my experience was an isolated incident that could have taken place in any small airport in the country. I just returned from Big Sky, Montana. My travel was for business, even though Big Sky is known for winter recreation sports. I assure you I have no business on skis and instead was assisting a client on a potential real estate development project. I found Big Sky to be the beautiful, picturesque place that its very name describes! The nearest airport that handles commercial flights is in the town of Bozeman, about 50 miles from Big Sky. Upon arrival, the “log cabin” feel of the airport architecture was evident. There were statues of large animals and a general “outdoorsy” feeling to the place. My baggage promptly arrived and off I went to explore the legal aspects of developing their real estate! I was there for two days and learned a lot, met some incredibly interesting people and generally had a lot of fun. On Saturday morning, it was time to return home. Ah … airport security! Doesn’t that experience bring out the best of all involved parties? Don’t get me wrong, we need good, solid security practices in our airports to protect all of us from the evildoers we know are out there. However, this doesn’t mean a passenger can’t express some frustration. I strongly believe that there has to be a little common sense employed! I cringed as my bag caught the eye of “Agent 150.” She called the supervisor over with a “BAG CHECK” yell out and a gentleman I’ll call “Bob” enters. He pulls my makeup bag and removes the following: two mascara containers, one lipstick, one lip gloss and my foundation (NOT liquid foundation, crème foundation). He informs me that these items will need to be placed into a plastic bag (that, should I not have one on my person, could easily be obtained at the airport gift shop for 15 cents) or discarded. My first response? “You’re not serious.” That didn’t sit too well. The rest went something like this: “Yes ma’am, I am serious. These items are covered by the FAA ‘liquids’ rule.” I respond: “These items have made it through four major airports since that rule was enacted, so are you telling me that Bozeman has stricter standards?” Just so you all know, I’m very careful about airport security, take it very seriously and truly did not know mascara was a covered item and certainly didn’t think lipstick and crème foundation were forbidden. Bob says, “I cannot allow these on the airplane. What would you like to do?” I wanted to say — well, let’s just say I wanted to say a lot of things, but refrained. I asked if I could leave my other bags with security while I ran out to the gift shop and he refused — I’d have to start all over. I was truly running short on time at this point and said to myself: “The $40 worth of makeup is a lot less than what your bond will be when you get so mad on your way to the gift shop that you come back and assault Bob. Don’t do it — just don’t go there. Just let him take it and go get on the plane.” At this time, my travel companion is on the other side of security (visible through a glass window about 10 feet away) waving a plastic baggie at me. He had purchased a bagel that, ironically, came in a plastic baggie! We can hear him saying, “Angela! Angela! I have a baggie for you!” I tell Bob, “My friend, he has a secure bag for me, may I get that from him to take my makeup … PLEASE?!” He ignores me and says, “Ma’am, are you going to get a bag from the gift shop or are you going to leave this here?” I think I blacked out at this point. The good news is I did end up on the plane with my foundation — and because it was such a production in such a small place, almost every passenger on the plane witnessed the exchange. I’m sure they all felt safer knowing I didn’t have any mascara on my person. Note: Upon arriving home, I did research this issue and learned that mascara is indeed on the list of restricted items, but lipstick and foundation are not! Angela Arnwine practices business/real estate law in the Prins & Arnwine Law Firm. She and her husband, Shane, have a son, Adam, and a daughter, Abigail — two astonishingly dissimilar kids. She can be reached at: angelaarnwine @yahoo.com.
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