And with security so much on people’s minds this week, it’s hard to believe some of the things that have been going on at airport screening stations. How about Minnesota State Rep. Dick Borell, who was arrested while trying to board a flight from Minneapolis-St. Paul with a loaded handgun in his carry-on baggage? Borell, who was handcuffed and charged, told authorities he’s been packing the little derringer for 15 years for self-protection. He said he didn’t empty the bag from his last road trip and forgot the gun was there. He’ll be in court Feb. 12 facing misdemeanor charges. In another case of remarkable forgetfulness, a Pennsylvania church missionary is facing similar charges after screeners found a hacksaw blade and razor blade in his shoe. David McIntyre’s unusual story prevented authorities from laying federal charges. He told officials he’d recently been a missionary in Brazil and had received several threats on his life. He put the blades in his shoe in case he was abducted and had to cut his way out of the trunk of a car. “I thought it was a reasonable precaution,” he said. He said he hadn’t worn the specially equipped shoes for a year and forgot about the blades. He made it through screening at two Brazilian airports before setting off alarms in Miami on his way back home to West Chester, Penn. He was freed on bond Monday.
