Commentary from an Eldest Daughter Regarding TSA Approved/Prohibited Items When Traveling by Airplane with a Grieving Father by Sharon Colby

Magic 8 Ball    

• Carry On Bags: No
• Checked Bags: Yes

For Carry-on bags: We asked the Magic 8 Ball and it told us…Outlook not so good!

For Checked bags: We asked the Magic 8 Ball and it told us…It is certain.

Writers of the Transportation Security Administration website list “What Can I Bring?” slip in humor from time to time, as evidenced above. Whenever possible, receive their comedic attempts as a grace-filled boost to ease the tribulations of your day.

You will need such support when traveling with your distraught sister and brokenhearted 90-year-old father, recently widowed after 68 years of marriage. Especially when he is legally blind, impacted by dementia, and feeling defeated using the airport wheelchair. He is leaving his North Carolina home of 30 years to live near a daughter in Illinois. While you may want to ask a Magic 8 Ball about the future, it is likely to reveal “Cannot Predict Now.” So, no need to bring it on your flight.

Gel Ice Packs

• Carry On Bags: Yes (Special Instructions*)
• Checked Bags: Yes

*Frozen liquid items are allowed through the checkpoint as long as they are frozen solid when presented for screening. Note that medically necessary gel ice packs in reasonable quantities are allowed regardless of their physical state of matter. Please notify the TSA officer at the checkpoint for inspection.

It will take three TSA agents to examine and discuss the gel ice packs after making phone calls, presumably to one or more supervisors. Remain resolute; the packs are needed to manage your father’s back pain.

Allow more time for this process than your previously competent and independent father would easily tolerate — assuming he and your sister need to catch the flight from Raleigh/Durham to Chicago O’Hare, scheduled to arrive a few hours before the chosen assisted-living center will close its doors in quarantine mode due to the global Covid pandemic.

If you underestimate time and the flight is missed, you will have to determine where to get round-the-clock help for your father; your sister who lives in Chicago is unable to be his caregiver. This is especially challenging if you are catching your own flight home from Raleigh/Durham to Albuquerque, departing shortly.

Cremated Remains

• Carry On Bags: Yes (Special Instructions*)
• Checked Bags: Yes

*We understand how painful losing a loved one is and we treat crematory remains with respect. Some airlines do not allow cremated remains in checked bags, so please check with your airline to learn more about possible restrictions.

Go ahead and take that beautiful butterfly box, after prying it from your father’s arms as he whispers, “Betty, Betty, I can’t go on without you,” and place the ashes and bits of bone in his carry-on bag. Continue through the security lines, swallowing back your tears.

When you get to the gate and the airline rep says, “I will need to gate check your bag. It is a full flight,” know your sister will sob: “We can’t, we just can’t! Our mother’s ashes are in there!”

You will receive an unexpected flood of kindness from the gate personnel who gather, drawn by the outburst. You will likely need to share your Kleenex with those in the waiting area who overhear the exchange. No doubt there are some who whisper to their God, “Please let them get on the plane with everything they need!”

Upon landing in Albuquerque, check your messages. Close your eyes after reading your sister’s text — “Landed O’Hare. Made it to the center.” Resume breathing before doubling over, sobbing.

There is nothing in your carry-on or checked bag that will help you prepare for another trip through TSA in three weeks, this time carrying your father’s ashes. You didn’t need a Magic 8 Ball to tell you “Outlook Not Good.” He told you at the airport that he couldn’t go on without your mother.

Image Credit: Flickr Creative Commons/Paul Lee