For those of us who lived through the events on that fateful day in September, we remember. We remember what it was like at airports, amusement parks, and sporting events. Security check points were minimal or simply didn’t exist. We could go to Disneyland without passing through a metal detector. We could go to a football game with any kind of bag. We could say goodbye to our friends and family at the boarding gate.
Whether you were alive on 9-11-2001 or born after, your life has been affected. Your perception of the world and your feelings of security have been influenced by the actions of a handful of hateful men.
Just last week I traveled to Boston for a funeral. The security checkpoint at Logan Airport was atrocious. I removed all of my electronics, all of my liquids, my shoes, my hat. When it was finally my turn to raise my arms in the machine that would scan every part of me, nearly an hour had passed since I’d gotten in line. My watch triggered the machine along with the metal snaps on the pants I was wearing. I was fortunate the TSA agent who patted me down was friendly. She told me where she would touch me and asked if I had any sensitivity in those areas. I have heard many horror stories of rigorous pat-downs and violations by aggressive agents. Thankfully my experience has been acceptable.
Last fall I went to Disneyland. I stood in a long line to pass through security. I had only my phone and a small wallet in my possession. Yet I had to wait as parents with children (it is Disneyland after all) had their diaper bags and stroller scrutinized. Then it was another wait to get through the ticket gate. It took perhaps a half an hour to get into the happiest place on Earth. This was all on a weekday in October. I can’t imagine what it must be like on the weekends!
As for me, I was aboard the USS Enterprise when those men took something from all of us. The ship was headed to South Africa for a historic port of call when everything changed. My Captain didn’t wait for orders. He heard the news and ordered the ship back to the Middle East, the most likely source of the attack. Eventually we got some payback but the scars remain.
I don’t feel any more or any less safe with the increased security measures but I understand why they are in place. I wonder if we will ever get back that sense of security. Will there be a day when metal detectors, full body scans, and bag checks go away? Can we build a world where a large crowd of people can gather without fear of bullets raining down or bombs going off? I want to believe we can. I want my nieces and nephews born post 9-11-2001 to feel safe in amusement parks without the hassle of long security lines. How can we make that happen?
End Transmission.
There is an expression among nuclear operators in the navy: “Don’t nuke it.” This basically translates to “don’t over complicate it”. In the world of nuclear operations, civilian as well as military, every operation to the smallest switch or valve manipulation is controlled by procedures. These procedures are painstakingly written, constantly scrutinized, and revised as needed to ensure proper safe operation of the reactor. What would outwardly appear like a simple evolution of turning on a light is made complicated by briefings, two (or even three) way communication, and strict adherence to the procedure; no short cuts. In other words, “it’s nuked.”
That’s right, I nuked the hell out of travel trailer operations. I didn’t stop at putting all the manuals in a single binder so they took up less space and were all in one place. I didn’t stop at making a checklist for shutting down the trailer when a camping trip was over. Oh no, I went above and beyond. I created numerous procedures written as if the trailer were a nuclear reactor. I wrote a procedure for connecting the trailer to a tow vehicle and a separate one for disconnecting it. I wrote a procedure for placing the trailer in a camping configuration and another one for going from a camping configuration to a tow configuration. I wrote separate procedures for dumping waste tanks and lighting off the oven. My procedures included notes of caution, PPE (personal protective equipment) requirements, and included diagrams and figures for ease of operator understanding.
If I had any questions about how something worked before I did this, they were all answered by the time I was finished. After all that work I was more than ready for our shakedown cruise. Our trip was not only about testing to see if everything worked on the trailer like it was supposed to, it was also a test of my procedures! They require some minor revisions but overall everything worked as it should and by following the procedures, we didn’t break anything!
No, I didn’t need to “nuke” my trailer and I probably made things more complicated than needed. I certainly don’t think every RV owner would or even could go to all the trouble I did. I want this trailer to remain in good working order for a long as possible. To ensure that end, it must be operated safely and properly and my nuked understanding (and procedures) make that possible.
One of the fundamental lessons I learned growing up was family first. We were the kind of family that ate dinner every night together. The TV was turned off and there were no other distractions allowed during family time. I come from a large family and there was always some soccer game or band practice happening so outside of dinner we were going in different directions. Still, the message growing up was family came first. The needs of the family unit were more important than the individual. Rent came before new shoes, groceries came before oboe reeds. As a working class family, that was the only way we could all thrive.
“The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.” -Spock
