Conversation piece

It's a shame we've come to such a state of affairs that an old man can't carry his walking stick on board an airplane without mutilating it!
But the last time I flew, I noticed how crowded it was and thought how dangerous it would have been with a bunch of canes laying about. Too bad he had to cut it up, but I bet he did a good job of it!

Yes Rad, it was the work of an artist. It was remarkable that he was able to find so straight such a length piece of driftwood, thick and strong enough for a walking stick. He and his wife were pleased that his handiwork was noticed, and justifiably proud. I should have asked his permission for a photo, but I thought that would be too much of an intrusion on his privacy, especially if he is a well known artist in this expensive neighborhood.

The cane I made for my dad needed a repair while I was there and I needed to bring it home. I flew home with the very substantial maple cane with an ash handle with no problems. Of course it doesn't have anything attached to it.

Airport security is not uniform across the country. My son had a lot of radiation after cancer some 14 years ago. Now he avoids the airport screening devices and requests the patdown to avoid still more radiation. In San Francisco, everyone is very amicable about that. Here in Tulsa they generally make him wait a while and treat him like a probable terrorist.

The training and the regulations are the same, but the culture in the State of my birth has become less humane than it once was.

I believe that the regs permit a cane, if your Doc says you need one. But the walking stick is not accepted. I really wanted to take a nice walking stick to San Francisco, because my sone and I with our wives have hiked in some awesome areas. I have a fishing pole case, but I don't trust the baggage handlers with a piece of work in which I have invested many hours of thought and labor.