Windfall at LAX - Chump Change at JFK - Arrested in Denver.

You know the pocket change you deposit in the little tray bef0re going through security at the airport? It seems that some folks don't bother to pick up their change before heading to the gate. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) collects any coins left behind and applies the proceeds towards expenses. The TSA recently reported that this neglected pocket change added up to a windfall of $90,000 last year at LAX! Is it any wonder? The glitz, the glam, the BIG pocket change left in L.A? Inexplicably, on the "other" coast, the yield at JFK for the year was only $600. Hmmmmm. No report available for MSP. I'll bet no change was left, either. You're not surprised, are you?

Well at least I never got beat up by a passenger. Last week a JetBlue flight attendant was subjected to a physical attack and racial slurs during a flight from New York to San Francisco after he removed a lighted cigarette from the mouth of an intoxicated female passenger who had refused to put it out. The flight was diverted to Denver and the woman, who said she had been drinking vodka and did not remember lighting up, was arrested. These days are fraught with peril in the cabin of a commercial airliner. Fifty years ago we not only didn't care if people smoked we gave each passenger a free sample size pack of Marlboroughs on their meal tray. It seemed to keep physical violence in check.

P.S. Please don't assume from the above that I am making light (pun intended) of the health risks to self and others of smoking in an airplane. I am the worst kind of non-smoker myself. A converted former 2 pack a day lady.