Ask Not What Your Airport Can Do For You

I entered Lynden Pindling International Airport in Nassau, Bahamas.  I was returning from my relaxing, much-too-short visit.

My sister and I waited in the long line at the JetBlue counter to check in for our flight to Orlando.

People-watching had been a favorite pastime for the two of us in Nassau and the airport was no different.  A guy dressed like a cross between Prince and Michael Jackson.  A couple arguing over their passports.  And a little boy carrying a Waterkeeper Alliance suitcase.

That caught my attention, since I'm a big fan of the Waterkeeper and Riverkeeper Alliances. They're amazing organizations doing incredible work to protect our waterways.

We finally reached the counter, while the "Waterkeeper" family pulled up to the window next to ours.

My sister and I went through the security check and moved onto carry-on bag X-rays. As we waited to unload our bags and shoes into the bins, the "Waterkeeper" family arrived behind us and unloaded their bags.  Then the dad pulled the Waterkeeper suitcase off the belt because his son had forgotten to put an ID badge on it.

That wasn't unusual - but the man holding the Waterkeeper suitcase was the founder of the Waterkeeper Alliance - Bobby Kennedy, Jr.!

The last time I had seen him he was giving a talk on mountaintop removal at Town Hall in New York.  I couldn't contain my excitement, but I couldn't lose it in front of him.  So I whispered to my sister, "That's Bobby Kennedy, Jr.!"

She looked at me blankly.


"The environmentalist?  Bobby Kennedy's son?  JFK's nephew???  He's a KENNEDY!"


Finally, she agreed with me that he did have the Kennedy charm.

It was then that I realized I had a plastic water bottle in my hand.


Crap!  I almost never drink out of plastic water bottles but in New York I had been stopped at the airport (the one named for Bobby Kennedy Jr.'s uncle) with my Klean Kanteen so I packed it away for this leg of the trip.


Now I was carrying the very symbol of everything I'm opposed to in front of one of the environment's biggest leaders.  This was like flashing an upside down cross in front of the Pope...


I tried to conceal the environmental weapon but I was too late.

"Ma'am...would you like me to throw that away for you?"  said the TSA agent who was speaking really, really loud.


My mouth became so dry I almost wished I had another plastic bottle of water. 

Was he really asking me to throw it away?  In the trash?  I could only wonder where their goes?  In the landfill?  Or in the giant plastic island in the middle of the Pacific?  Either way, I coudn't do it in front of Bobby.


In slow motion, Mr. Kennedy placed his belongings next to mine...


"Do you recycle?" came out of my mouth in scary, slowed-down speech.

The agent stared at me as my passport and plane ticket separated from my hand and flew in opposite directions.

The TSA agent didn't reply to my recycle question as he searched for my ticket under the X-ray machine.  Even if my sister hadn't been screaming at me, I'd have been dying of embarassment though it seemed that Bobby was paying more attention to his children than to my environmental faux pas.


The lesson wasn't lost on me, however.  To the hundreds of reasons why it's important not to use plastic bottles I can add another:


You never know who you might meet.


Stay tuned for an environmental update on the Bahamian culture!