Airport Roadblocks and Fanatics

One or two incidents by fanatics and/or lunatics and the country reacts with formative roadblocks that are layered one on top of another.  Two days ago, I drove to the airport to pick up a friend.  I timed it perfectly, her text to me that her luggage was secured came moments prior to my arrival at the international arrivals area at the Honolulu International Airport.  I wasn’t really given a chance to adequately glance back and forth because I was immediately waylaid not by one, but three security guards who were only interested in waving me on, refusing to give me even a moment to search and locate my arriving friend. I have never been so rapidly bushwhacked by airport security guards, as it was evident that they had only one end game, the continuous movement of vehicles passing through the corridor of the arrivals terminal. They were not interested in giving me even a moment to search. Fortunately, she saw my car and with three pieces of heavy luggage pushed by a sleep deprived and exhausted 5-foot frame, she was able to run and almost catch and then run again and catch up to my car that was slowly rolling forward, resisting as much as possible the relentless directives pushing me beyond the most advantageous arrival exit while hoping for a miracle.  I could not see her beyond the hounding confusion and cacophony of the moment: I was in this instance lucky she was already out there, camouflaged somewhere in the emerging crowds, alert enough to notice my car passing through the area. She did all the work finding me, while I was treated like an unwelcomed interloper. 

I realize this may have been an extreme case of airport security’s insensitivity to the primary mission of the arrivals areas to safely match the arriving passenger with their ride to secure their passage out of the airport to their destination.  But I get tired of the constant harassment of these humorless, rude and emboldened  security guards focused entirely on the movement of traffic through their area.