1995 was a harried Year. I started off in Las Vegas at the Shooting Hunting Outdoor Trade Show in January and ended with a Leadership Training Conference in Orlando in December. In between, I spent time traveling from event to meeting, conference to television show through Chicago's O'Hare or Denver's International Airport (DIA). I heard a rumor that the Deli at the San Francisco Airport was considering naming a turkey sandwich, On the Run with Women and Guns. By June the stewards and I were exchanging recipes. Over the past months I have seen the security arrangements at airports and government buildings increase dramatically. In fact, it has reached such a fevered pitch that I have started to look askew at the most benign individuals. I even suspect children of crimes worse than screaming on long airplane flights. Interestingly, some of the most frightening-looking individuals are those that have been put into hurriedly embroidered uniforms and have strapped on a belt with assorted items of defense like night sticks, mace and handcuffs. They almost uniformly refuse to look you in the eyes and their hands constantly shake. We were traveling when the horror of the Oklahoma City bombing took place. Along with everyone else, I was sick at the carnage that had been wrought. Airport security had tightened slightly. We were asked if we had packed our own bags, kept them with us at all times and if we had accepted any packages from strangers. The bombing at the World Trade Center had not made much of an impression on me, but this certainly did. Because of these incidents, the White House and many members of Congress have proposed draconian measures including randomly tapping everyone's telephone to secret infiltration of organizations and restriction on the freedom of association. I don't know who is more paranoid, the so-called militia or the so-called government security agencies. In May, I went to Washington, D.C. combining pleasure with business. My two eldest were on their first trip to our Nation's Capital and we planned to see everything. Arriving late in the evening, we crossed from Virginia heading toward the Capitol. We decided on a quick tour by night to see the Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, Kennedy Center and Watergate among others. It was very late and I was tired but I couldn't figure out where the White House had gone. Every time we took a turn to get near it, more concrete barricades and trunk to trunk police cars foiled us. The next morning we learned that the President's Home had been quadranted off and was no longer visible from any street. It looked like what I would expect of a place under danger of imminent, massive attack. The next day a pizza delivery driver did manage to get a better look and actually scaled the fence to be found wandering the grounds by the Secret Service. The next trip that I took involved traveling with four children by myself. This alone is a risk to the security of the sanity of an adult's mind. But we made it through DIA twice without incident. Due to scheduling constraints, I started traveling somewhat regularly on a small commuter airline. The operative term is small. The largest plane sits 32 with 18 seats being the usual configuration. The security at the small two gate airport is amazing. When departing, the security agent, goes through all carry-on items. I turn on my notebook computer, my cellular phone and open and wind up my lipstick so that I can prove they are what they appear to be. If I were to show them a business card, they might not let me on the plane. Then out into the wheat field scented air, dropping baggage in the nose of the plane, I continue my journey. Another trip took me to Dallas through Denver. On the return trip, we made an unexpected stop in Albuquerque because we were going to run out of fuel. I will admit that I was scared. Freaked might be a better word. You would think that I would be smart enough to stop at that point but I trudged ahead through Chicago to Knoxville for my next adventure. We arrived 4 hours late to be greeted by police at a sentry post asking us to open the trunk of our rental car. I asked if the President was in town and was told this was normal security. When we left, I had to stay at the curb with the car while my husband took in our bags and showed identification to prove that the ticket was his. The airline agent asked to see my ID but my husband explained I had to stay with the car so they wouldn't tow it away. I quickly ran in, explained I had had my hair cut and ran back out. I am running out of room but not stories. In Chicago I was forced to wait 3 hours because my bags had missed the plane and FAA rules require that bags and passengers must travel on the same plane. In St. Louis, you can't park a car with tinted windows in the garage. The drive toward heightened security started in the early seventies with a series of airplane hijackings. I remember traveling then between Miami and a small island in the Caribbean. All passengers were searched with a hand-held metal detector and allowed to board. A frequent traveler explained to me that this airline had a very specific and well-known plan to dealer with terrorists. The suave gentleman seated in first class was carrying a fully automatic weapon in his briefcase. It worked and it made me feel safe. A firearm seems an appropriate deterrent. The FAA does not agree. Personal Parting Shots Love to all. Happy New Year to all! Kisses to the esses. Thanks for the fire, M.M.D.