I never thought I’d say this about airport security

Well, as long as Qworst is providing (temporarily) free broadband access from their Business Center here at DIA, the least I can do is take advantage of them (since they’re always willing to return the favor).

Margie dropped me off at the airport, which was kind of odd, and I entered. United has cleverly set up a separate line for people checking in with no checked bags, and I was through that with no problem.

Almost.

Margie had bought my ticket on-line. No problem there, we’ve done it a million times, except that it’s always our tickets. As proof of identity, United wants to see the credit card that the purchase was made on.

So I had to be sure this morning to get from Margie the card she used. It was, she informed me, a MasterCard that is in her name (vs one we share), so I had to carry it with me.

No problem, right? Wrong. She used a different card.

Fortunately, it was a card that we do share, so I had a copy of it. Onward.

I intentionally went to the north security checkpoint because I’d read a week ago that’s where the first deployment of real honest-to-Dubya Federal TSA security screeners was going, and I wanted to get a first-hand sense of how they were vs. the previous security (originally the unlamented Argenbright, followed by the no-discernible-improvement Wackenhut).

I was, if I dare say this about any Homeland Security measure thus far, very impressed.

First of all, there were a lot of them. I felt like the density of screening personnel was half again what the private firms had brought in, if not more. That means they could assign folks to do a single thing, rather than keeping an eye on multiple spots.

Second, they were, to a man and woman, friendly, courteous, and professional. The system was organized, efficient, and thorough. There was a person to help in loading stuff onto the conveyor to the x-ray, explaining what needed to be out, what to do with my cell phone, etc. which made that much more efficient than I would have expected (and since the procedure had changed during every trip I’ve taken since 9/11, quite a relief). There was the person at the walk-through. I beeped, so I got to go into the Suspect Corral, but there was a person there who apologized it would take a moment, engaged me in conversation, apologized again — and watched to make sure I didn’t jump the line.

The person who ended up wanding me after a minute or two was very, very thorough, but came off as a complete professional about it, explaining what he was going to do, how he’d pat me down if he had to, and taking in good humor a phantom positive at my ankle (“Rebar in the floor,” he said).

My stuff was waiting for me, and there was someone waiting there, too, helping folks while also keeping an eye to make sure that someone didn’t just grab all the laptops and run.

The bottom line? I felt much more secure and much less resentful of the security than I have since 9/11, or even before. I am, to say the least, shocked. And, even more shockingly, pleased.

Never thought I’d say that about airport security.

How long it will last, I don’t know. I know it’s expensive. I know that the employees are (at least some of them) relatively fresh to all this. I know the grind might get them down, and the system with it.

But for the moment, they’re doing what seems to be a good job. Kudos where kudos are due.

I’ll post again tonight, if I can. With the rehearsal dinner and all, it may be a late night.