Cat In A Bag? TSA is no Dr. Seuss

The Transportation Security Administration has really impressed me lately.

First, on my way back from California to Washington DC, they managed to lose all my valuable jewelry. I don’t usually store my valuables inside my luggage, but I had a mental lapse in judgment that day - I actually believed that in the efforts to keep citizens safe from terrorists, TSA might also refrain from “misplacing” my precious jewelry. In one day I lost my grandmother’s pearls, precious rings and necklaces from my travels through South America and several other valuable items. The jewelry was packed in a small black bag at the very bottom of my luggage. I figured that even if my bag went through a violent security check, my jewelry might still be secure if it was well-positioned.

Clearly, my efforts were in vain.

When my bag was returned after the one-way flight from San Francisco to Washington, DC, I found my luggage open, with my converse tennis shoe hanging out. The suitcase was sitting in a crate as if meant to collect any other miscellaneous items that happen to fall out along the way. Instead of closing the bag properly, TSA just let it sit haphazardly in a large plastic crate dumped onto a baggage belt. Thank you again, TSA, for your courteous efforts.

SO - you can imagine my surprise this morning when I read the AP story about how a kitten, mistakenly packed inside a suitcase, was able to get through an airport X-ray machine, loaded onto a plane, survive a baggage belt, and then picked up by a stranger and discovered later that day.

The passenger who accidentally took the wrong luggage and found the kitten was kind enough to call the owners and report the missing feline. My jewelry, however, is still lost and my claims are being denied.

When it comes to sniffing out expensive jewelry, TSA seems to be quite proficient. When it comes to discovering a live animal stuck inside a suitcase, perhaps we should just leave it to the fire department to deal with that.