I'm doing a traffic study inside The Army's Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville so I needed a security clearance/visitors pass to get on base.
At the visitor center the waiting room was totally empty, totally, so I walked up to a window and asked for help. The girl behind the otherwise empty bank of windows said I had to take a number from the kiosk in the lobby. I looked around dramatically and exclaimed "I'm the only one here."
Unimpressed, she pointed to the digital sign above her which read "Now Serving Visitor #59" and she asked, "Do you have number 59?"
Remembering my days in the Air Force and what wastes of space civilian worker drones are and how logic and sense are completely lost on them, I sauntered on over, pushed the button, and was rewarded with a slip of paper labeling me visitor #60.
I handed her the paper and she pushed some hidden button and the sign changed to "Now Serving Visitor #60".
She smirked at me as if she'd just taught me a lesson or something.
6 comments:
Sad. Was the clerk a younger person or someone who was obviously steeped in the bureaucratic tradition. The latter is sad and frustrating. The former is criminal as the system will ruin her if it hasn't already. Worse yet is what choice did you have?
She was young, probably 30 or less. It was all I could do not to start laughing at the absurdity of the situation.
I briefly worked as a tax cashier mainly selling license plates after graduation. I certainly felt the perverse attraction of the bureaucratic ability to mess with our supposed customer/employers. I had to get away before I even got another job; I could just imaging myself there in 30 years!
The TSA seem to be thoroughly enjoying their power position. About all our brave young president can do competently is decree bathroom policy.
I heard the TSA 1-year attrition rate is like 25%......which defenders of TSA remark is the same as people in the service industry.
What? Do we really want the nation's air security left up to people as reliable as waiters, janitors, and restaurant bus-boys?
Get rid of the TSA altogether and let each airport hire private security.
Don't you have a retired ID, Ed? Not sufficient?
You know I didn't try it. The base security guy who took my info over the phone for the background check said it probably was OK, but since it's been since 1996 and expires in 2020, he thought it wouldn't hurt to go ahead and get a current pass. I should have asked the guard at the gate.
Post a Comment