Yesterday an airport screener at Newark Airport was removed from her usual checkpoint for “remedial training,” when she failed to see a butcher knife in a passenger’s purse that passed through the x-ray machine. Only after having cleared security and taken a seat in the boarding area did Ms. Katrina Bell, a former Newark resident, traveling to her current home in North Carolina, notice that she had forgotten to remove the butcher knife from her purse.

When she alerted the security people (She was worried someone would see the knife and conclude that she was a terrorist), they questioned the security screener who indicated that she had not noticed the knife in the bag. Ms. Bell was asked to return the knife to the bag and pass it through the x-ray machine again. Apparently, the knife was easily seen on the screen.

Neither Ms. Bell nor her sister, Tikisha Bell Gowens, with whom she had intended to travel, was arrested. Ms. Bell continued on her trip (without the blade), but her sister remained behind because of the delay.

As I was reading the story, I could not help but wonder why the woman had a butcher knife in her purse in the first place? Only toward the end of the story were we told the stated reason for Ms. Bell’s possession of the knife.

It seems that Ms. Bell had been out on a blind date the night before and was told by her aunt to carry it “just in case.”

She may not have been a terrorist, but clearly she is not one to be trifled with. It’s a good thing the blind date guy didn’t get grabby.