I think the Department of Homeland Security is reading my blog. Checking-in at the ticket counter on my way home from San Francisco this week was much faster. I didn’t even try printing my boarding pass in advance this time. What’s the point, really? I know I’m on the No-Fly Watch List so why bother?

The nice woman at the ticket counter checked me in. She didn’t fill out the No-Fly Watch List clearance form and handed me back my license. So I said, “No, No-Fly Watch List this time?”

And she said, “Oh yes, you’re on it.”

“But I didn’t see you filling out the form,” I responded.

“I’m doing it right now,” she said as she continued typing on the computer. Wow, that was fast, it was only last week that I suggested that it would be much more efficient, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly if they coordinated the No-Fly Watch List Clearance form information in a centralized database at the Department of Homeland Security. Were they reading my blog? And acting on my suggestions? Maybe I have a future consulting for the Department of Homeland Security, I thought to myself.

But no, the ticket agent was just being efficient. “Oh, I still have to fill out the form,” she informed me. “But I’ll just use the information on the computer and do it later so I don’t have to keep you waiting. So thoughtful.

I’ve interacted with the Department of Homeland Security before. I even have a special Department of Homeland Security mug, given to me by a US Border Patrol agent.

A few years ago I organized a tour of the California Mexico border for the staff and board of the Women’s Foundation of California, where I am employed.  We decided to coordinate the tour through the US Border Patrol to get the full inside scoop. My liaison at the Border Patrol was a woman named Wendi, a Senior Patrol Agent. Wendi was very friendly and guided us  along the double fence that separates Mexico from California. She gave us an overview of how the Border Patrol is protecting our security by keeping out the vulnerable people who come to the US seeking work, cleaning our houses, caring for our children, and working the farms so we all have fresh produce whenever we want.

I didn’t fault Wendi for the flaws in US immigration policy. She was just doing her job. Wendi became interested in working for the US Border Patrol because her father, a Mexican, used to help people who would get injured trying to cross the border. He did this work from Mexico, where Wendi grew up. She herself is an immigrant too, which made it harder for me to understand why she wanted to keep other immigrants out. She told me that her father was not happy when she decided to pursue a career with the US Border Patrol.

About a week after I returned home, I got a package in the mail from Wendi. She sent me a thank you note for taking interest in her work, and enclosed a Department of Homeland Security mug, which I feature prominently in my office.