KEN BROWN ENGRAVING GETS IN A QUICKIE.

AIRPORT TRICK  

Jessica Hernandez is marrying Hector Hernandez so no name changes in the paperwork when these two join forces.  He’s in the oil field business and she’s director of sales at an area country club.  Yes, I have my hooks into possibilities there.

They’re close friends and relatives of our relatives so they got some free wedding engraving.  And that’s fine.  I understand they will have a pretty cool wedding reception so I’ll get paid in shrimp and cocktail sauce.  Let’s see…no I can’t eat that much but I’ll get close.Hector’s groomsman gifts 

Engraved groomsman gifts are some hefty single-bladed knives with the recipient’s name on one side of the blade and ‘Groomsman’ on the other.  The bride & groom get their name on the back side, along with the wedding date.  They’ll make great gifts for these sure-to-be big guys, friends of the groom.  

I keep a small VICTORINOX knife on my keyring.  I use it almost every day and it’s always in my pocket.  Of course when I travel, I always take it off my ring before I leave the car in the airport parking lot.  Recently I didn’t.  I got all the way to the entrance at security and realized it was still in my pocket.  I was NOT about to give up my little knife to that TSA crowd who looks into our shoes and souls as we pass through their little domain.  Didn’t have time to fight the process of mailing the knife back to myself.

I did a u-turn back to the airport lobby.  Found the huge stair-step rack filled with brochures for local points of interest.  Six Flags Over Texas.  Fair Park.  The West End Aquarium.  Must have been 200 brochures standing in each of the 50 slots in the rack.  I stood for a moment, looking a round to see if anyone had eyes on me.  I didn’t see a soul I worried about.  Of course I didn’t think about the ‘eye in the sky’ security cameras, bound to be in every corner of the lobby and ceiling.

 Nevertheless, I removed my knife from the keyring, paused a moment, then pretended to browse through one slot fullest of brochures.  JOE’S DOG GROOMING & BURGERS.  I casually dropped the knife behind the brochures and heard it hit bottom.  In a moment I returned to security.  Took the trip, returned several days later, retrieved my luggage, and went back to ‘check out the area points of interest.’  JOE’S place hadn’t had much activity since the rack was still packed.  I reached behind the brochures to find my little knife still there.  Ken Brown 1.  TSA 0.  

I’ll remind Hector to pass that trick on to the groomsmen.  

-Ken