I saved some money by not taking the most direct route to Romania. Instead of a single stop in Rome, I opted for two stops: Manchester, England and Helsinki, Finland. Yet, the wisdom of this plan was quickly discredited. At the duty-free shop in Chicago, I bought two bottles of whiskey to give as presents to Romanian families. They were delivered to my gate as I boarded, and I immediately put them in the overhead compartment. Upon transferring flights in Manchester, passengers were again directed thru security, where a guard confiscated my two bottles without notice or explanation. Confused, I caught his attention and asked, “Can’t I bring duty-free items onto my transfer?” Without looking up, the guard simply responded that the bag containing the bottles was not properly sealed. “The bag is how it was when the duty-free people gave it to me,” I said, “Are you telling me I lose all that money because they somehow didn’t do something.” “You opened it,” retorted the guard. “Look at the bag,” I pleaded, “Nothing has been opened. Nothing has been manipulated.” To this, the guard refused to answer. I considered pushing harder or asking for his manager. Quickly through, I remembered the trouble that a rouge airport security could cause for a persistent passenger. I, alas, surrendered. Traveling from Chicago to a rural Romanian village, you expect someone to screw with you, but I never thought it would be the English.
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