Lost the Ticket

It used to be that if you parked at the lot at the Pittsburgh International Airport, and you lost your parking ticket, you had to pay some exhorbitant 'full price'. So, whenever we returned from a trip last fall and couldn't find our parking ticket, we started frantically rifling through all of the luggage, and came up empty. We were frustrated, ...but then the poor guy wandering around the parking lot, without a coat in the freezing weather, looking for his car, seemed to be worse off than we were. At least we rememberd to write down the section and row of our parking space.

We sheepishly drove up to the toll gate, and admitted we'd lost our way. The attendant asked for our car registration, and Bruce's driver's license (to prove we weren't stealing the Gray Goose), and within moments told us what we owed, when we'd arrived, AND even where we had parked. We were amazed to find that a computerized tracking system at the airport knew of every vehicle that entered, where it was parked, and when it departed. All due, no doubt, to the increased security systems put in place over the last several years.

It was a good thing that we weren't penalized for the lost ticket, and it's a good thing to know that if you can't remember where you parked, someone can tell you where it is. And, it's a good thing to realize the technology is in place to help thwart acts of terrorism. But it is a little disconcerting to realize how much Big Brother has infiltrated our daily lives.

I was reading this morning about the spy satellite that is falling out of orbit and back to earth. The US military is attempting to shoot it down because if it enters on its own, it could release a lethal, toxic gas cloud the size of two football fields, as well as have components which may not burn up upon re-entry. They don't know for sure yet where it would even fall.

But hey... at least someone can tell you where and when you parked at the airport!