Regarding airport security, Cuban food, and Chinese tattoos

I spent most of last week in Kentucky for a little training at the corporate office, and as such, my feeble little brain is still trying to recover from a case of information overload.

With that warning, here are a few observations I made during my travels:

— Omaha’s airport is small. Not that it’s a bad thing. In fact, considering how easy it was to navigate, it’s a pretty good thing. I did get the honor of being selected for a random security screening, in which the friendly airport official rubbed some solvent on my palms, and took the piece of cotton to an undisclosed location for analysis. What he was looking for is beyond me, but apparently, I didn’t have it.

— I did manage to get in trouble twice with airport security. Well, not serious trouble. But apparently, you can’t approach security with a bottle of water, and your laptop can’t be stored in your briefcase. Oops.

— On an unrelated note, I saw a guy with a funky looking symbol tattooed on his leg. I asked him what it was, and he said the Chinese symbol for serenity. That made me wonder: is there a bunch of Asians wondering around with English phrases tattooed to their bodies?

— If you go to Louisville, you aren’t actually going to “Louieville.” No, no, no. That’s not how they pronounce it. It’s called “Lewlville.” They are a little testy about that. Oops.

— I have never tasted stronger coffee or sat in a more air-conditioned room than the one we used for training. I think the folks at corporate wanted to make sure no one fell asleep.

— Cu-ban food doesn’t taste a thing like Mexican food, but if you don’t like Mexican, I wouldn’t recommend Cuban.

— Back to airport security. One thing I never understood is why, after going through extensive screening including metal detectors, x-ray machines, and the occasional random swabbing, are passengers allowed to go to restaurants and gift shops. I could have purchased several glass items, which could easily have been tailored into something dangerous. It would also seem to create another loophole in security measures if someone were able to smuggle in a weapon though a stuffed animal, or some other kind of gift shop item.

— I was back in town in time for Red Oak’s graduation. I’ve been to more than 50 graduations in my tenure as a journalist, but I saw something at Red Oak’s I’ve never seen before: a parent, chosen by the seniors, to deliver a commencement address. I liked it.

— This weekend is Memorial Day. I’m not going to get preachy, but don’t forget to at least take a few minutes and remember the reason for this lovely three-day weekend. Lest we forget.