Editor:
On our way back to White Rock from Toronto, I was asked to open my carry-on bag for inspection.
The trigger to the security alert was the two lighters in my bag.
The security officer said to me: “One lighter is for you, and one lighter is for me.”
So he confiscated one lighter out of my bargain at the corner shop, where I had acquired two lighters for the price of one.
I was somewhat stunned. Why can I board the plane with one but not two lighters? Besides I also had paper matches. Should there be a security risk in carrying two rather than one lighter on the plane?
I stood there somewhat dazed until the light came on and I called the security fellow back to explain the second lighter belonged to my wife.
I got the second lighter back.
It is certainly not the monetary value that prompted me to tell a lie – as my wife does not smoke and does not own a lighter – but what is this all about? We’re supposed to feel safe with this kind of antics?
Gerald Young, White Rock
