Terror in the Sky

It's amazing how the world can change in a matter of 9 hours while you are flying on a plane to the US.

On Thursday, I flew from Frankfurt to Salt Lake City for a meeting through the weekend. As we were landing in Cincinati, the pilot proceeded to tell the passengers about the new security measures that were being put in place at the airports. Most passengers were a little confused as they were not sure what was going on. But, security measures were in full-force once we stepped out of Customs and into the airport. It even became a little more odd when we were told that we had to stop on the run-way before we got to the gate to let US Customs marshals on the plane.

In my carry-on luggage I had 2 bottles of wine and I always carry some toiletries with me on long flights so that I can "freshen" up a bit like brushing my teeth and putting on some deoderant. But, when we picked up our luggage and carried it through customs, we were told that we had to put all "liquids and gels" , including toothpaste, deoderant, chapstick, lip gloss, face wash, shampoos, and anything considered a liquid, and put it in our check-in bag or throw it away. It was amazing how much stuff was being thrown away. I drank my bottle of water because I wanted to keep the bottle for future use. I didn't see this, but I can imagine some people broke open their bottles of champagne and drank them on the spot at the airports.

Security at the airport as we know it will probably be forever changed. I'll be suprised if we can take anything on the plane as a carry-on again.

I don't have a TV in Germany so I suppose I get kind of immune to not seeing the effects that terrorism can cause to a society. It's a bit scary watching all of the news shows about who was arrested, what was going to happen, and how fast it would have happened.

I'm safe and sound in Salt Lake City - this is a beautiful place. I've never been here before. I'm headed to Colorado Springs for 2 days on Sunday night to visit friends and then heading back to Germany on Wednesday. Quick trip to the US - but I'm sure it will be a good one.

All my best,
-Betsy