Traveling With Mom... Who Knew It Could Be So Bad?

by Michele Cheplic | More from this Blogger

I have traveled with my mother so often I would probably have an easier time counting the number of times we haven't shared a flight than the times we have. After all, who better to share cramped quarters with than the woman who changed your diapers? I know her quirks she knows mine. Well, apparently, this travel set up we share is something that shouldn't be taken for granted. At least that's what I thought after hearing what transpired last week at a Chicago airport between a man, his mom and... airport security.

According to police a "29-year-old man traveling with his mother desperately didn't want her to know he'd packed a sexual aid for their trip to Turkey. So he told security it was a bomb." That's right, a bomb. Airport security officials say guards stopped Madin Azad Amin after his bag went through the security-screening machine and agents found an object in his baggage that resembled a grenade. Airport officials say when he was asked to identify the item, Amin (who happened to be standing within earshot of his mother) decided to fabricate a story and told security personnel it was a bomb. Security immediately hauled Amin away and later learned that he lied because he didn't want to acknowledge in front of his mother that he was traveling with a sexual device. Police say Amin has been charged with felony disorderly conduct, and faces up to three years in prison if he's convicted.

For me this entire incident raises a litany of questions. First of all, who would rather face prison time than to fess up to owning a sexual device? (I could also ask, who travels with such a device, but I won't even go there.) Secondly, couldn't he have just whispered the answer to the security screeners if he was reluctant to speak about the object in front of his mother? What's more, what could she have possibly done to him that would compare to the public humiliation and possible prison time that he now faces? What do you think?

Learn more about Michele Cheplic

Michele Cheplic was born and raised in Hilo, Hawaii, but now lives in Wisconsin. Michele graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in Journalism.

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