I was thankful that I had alotted myself some extra time when I saw the four identical letters on the bottom right of my airline ticket: SSSS.

They are letters I have come to know quite well. Though I can't say for certain, I am increasingly convinced that I am on some sort of national list. Four of the last five times I've flown alone my ticket has been flagged with the SSSS. It's actually gotten to the point that it's the first place I look when I get my ticket, even before the gate or seat number.

The routine is pretty simple and it's seeming more and more silly. The person that checks my ID will get out a colored marker (usually a light color like neon green or yellow) and mark it up. When I hand the ticket to the person manning the metal detector, he or she will not say a word to me, turn around, hold the ticket in the air in order to flag down a security person. The security person asks me to step aside and waves the wand all over me. A couple times I got a pat-down. Once I had to open my pants to demonstrate that the the wand was going off because of a button on my boxer shorts.

I'm generally pretty laid back about it as there isn't much else to be. I was perhaps a little too familiar with it all this last time. I've found that the TSA people expect you to be a little nervous. My friendliness was met with a distrusting glare. In at least one case, I suspected that I let the TSA dude down by not being upset or nervous -- I think some people get a kick out of that.

I could say that it makes me feel better about our national security that they're flagging down potential troublemakers (even if they erroneously believe that I am one), but they have thus far followed such a strict pattern that there are holes in it the size on Montana. They only flag me on the first leg of my first flight. It's only when I fly alone. The only time I've not been flagged down was one of the times my flight didn't change and I wasn't flying one-way.

If this is their idea of security, I'm more than a bit disappointed.