The Transportation Security Administration is a favorite target of bloggers, travel writers, newspaper columnists … heck, everyone. It’s a government agency that can’t seem to do anything right, even when it’s done nothing wrong.
So this next story will come as a surprise to the TSA-haters out there. It was sent to me from a newsletter reader, who for now, prefers to remain nameless. (Can’t blame the person; who wants to get caught saying nice things about the TSA these days?)
“I had a commemorative knife in my pocket while passing through security screening at Knoxville, Tenn.,” the reader says.
A TSA agent confiscated the knife and asked for a business card.
When the reader came home a week later, there was a parcel in the mail. In it was the knife.
“There was no request for payment for postage, or his time,” recalls the reader. “It was a wonderful thing to remember that people can still be as caring as he was.”
Is this a turning point for the TSA? Is it recasting itself as a kindler, gentler sentry against terrorism — or is it a random act of kindness?
I don’t know.
But at a time when the travel industry seems to be circling the drain, the story gives me hope. It makes me believe that better days are ahead, when TSA agents go the extra mile for the taxpayers they serve, and when airlines treat their passengers like people, not cargo.
I am hopeful. I hope you are, too.
Christopher Elliott is the author of Scammed: How to Save Your Money and Find Better Service in a World of Schemes, Swindles, and Shady Deals. Critics have called it “eye-opening” and “inspiring” — it’ll “grab your attention and won’t let go.” Order your copy now on Amazon, Barnes & Noble or iTunes.
Elliott is consumer advocate 
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