On Thursday I received a rather rude awakening from my mother who was taking an early morning flight from Daytona Beach to Ohio for her high school class reunion. On the way to the airport, she heard the broadcasts that travelers (domestic and international) were not able to bring any liquids on board. Now for those that have never met my mother, a few facts are in order: she carries 2 purses for every day use (one for wallet, brush, and other items she thinks could be needed while shopping around and the other full of miscellaneous items (hair ties, purel, tissues, another brush, receipts form 1985, etc.). When she travels, one entire bag is dedicated to make-up. Yes, my mother is a high femme. It's no wonder word of my queerness sent her into such panic. So, on this fine Thursday morning, she was unceremoniously stripped of her hairspray by airport officials and forced to repack/ditch some of her cosmetics before boarding the flight. By the time I reach her during her layover in Atlanta, she is in a forlorn mood: gone was her new bottle of hair spray and her cosmetic bag had been reduced by half. And, this, before her 50th high school class reunion. What's a girl to do?
Later that afternoon J and I watched the steady stream of talking heads parade across the television warning US citizens that we were on the verge of a massive attack. Terrorists were hell bent on committing mass murder in the airways. Apparently, a fizzy drink (or an imposter) could be ignited using a remote control key thing-a-ma-jigie. No more cokes, Ipods, saline solution, and, yes, hairspray. Thanks to the brits, and of course Tony Blair, our lives were safe.
As usual, feeling cynical, J and I wondered aloud over breakfast if this was yet another fucked up ploy by the Bush/Blair administration to spike/strike fear in the hearts of everyone . . . due to sagging polls on both sides of the Atlantic.
Today, a friend sent me a rather distressing article about this whole mess:
Aug. 11, 2006 -- According to knowledgeable sources in the UK and other
countries, the Tony Blair government, under siege by a Labor Party
revolt, cleverly cooked up a new "terror" scare to avert the public's
eyes away from Blair's increasing political woes. British law
enforcement; neo-con and intelligence operatives in the United States,
Israel, and Britain; and Rupert Murdoch's global media empire cooked up
the terrorist plot, liberally borrowing from the failed 1995 "Oplan
Bojinka" plot by Pakistan- and Philippines-based terrorist Ramzi Ahmad
Yousef to crash 11 trans-Pacific airliners bound from Asia to the
United States. In the latest plot, it is reported that liquid bombs
were to be detonated on 10 trans-Atlantic planes outbound from Britain
to the United States.
When I read things like this, I just know that soap operas could never be as whacked as our current reality. Murdoch is wiretapping Prince Charles who is cooking up a plot to oust Blair . . . so Blair and Bush cook up counter plot based on an 11 year old foiled terrorist attempt from Asia to the US. Meanwhile, Bush is burning brush and biking in Crawford, while the US prepares another shipment of bombs to Israel.
And my 68-year old mother has been stripped of all things that make her feel like a woman . . .all in the name of terror. If this story turns out to be true (which we'll never know for another 20 years), I'd be pissed if I were her.
No comments:
Post a Comment