Preparing to leave

As I prepare to go on my trip around the world, I wonder if my experiences of the last twelve months are going to have any effect on what happens. I must admit that I'm still smirking about what occurred on my way home from the conference a couple of weeks ago. At the airport, they were doing the 'one in three' body frisking routine at security. I was the one in three.

Unkind though it is, I'm still amused when I think of the look on the security guard's face when we encountered each other. "Do you mind if I search you, Madam?", she enquired. Well, of course, we all mind - a lot - even though we can't refuse. So, it gave me great pleasure to reply, "Not in the least. But you probably need to know that I have a hysterectomy scar that is still healing." For some reason, she looked horrified - too much information, perhaps? I could see that she was wishing she hadn't chosen me out of the queue of people, but if you will pretend to be an Ancient Mariner, stopping one in three, you're bound to get at least one difficult one... However, to give her her due, she coped - but she had to get "the wand" rather than do a fingertip search. In fact, I wasn't really being difficult (well, not very) - as any of you who have had major surgery will know, the scar does take a long time to heal properly and it can be very painful if prodded, bumped, knocked, etc. Taking a trolley around a supermarket, for example, can be an even more unpleasant experience than normal; the handles are at just the right height to bang into the scar if you have to stop suddenly.

How many times am I going to have to agree to a search of my person while on this trip? And how many times will the "wand" have to be found to accommodate my condition? More soon...