Cleveland, Ohio

• Friday - July 6, 2001:
• My wife, two daughters, and myself arrived at Cleveland Hopkins Airport at about 2 p.m.. The flight to Los Angeles was scheduled to depart at 4:15 p.m. This trip is about nine weeks prior to September 11, 2001. We made our way to security and I set off the alarm as I passed through the gate. I had forgotten about my pocket knife, which I always carry. I emptied my pocket and showed the guard my pocket knife.  He opened the blade of the knife and measured its length with his forefinger! He handed the pocket knife back to me and said I was ok, because he said the blade was less than four inches long.
• We were scheduled to fly on a Continental Airlines Boeing 737-800. The flight to Los Angeles was nice with no turbulence. The in-flight meal was not so appetizing; it was a meatloaf sandwich heated up in a foil packet. The bread was pretty soggy. My wife was petrified of flying and she was convinced we were going to crash. My  two daughters sat next to me and the oldest was a little scared while the youngest had no fear at all.
• Arrived at Los Angeles World Airport at about 6 p.m local time.

He opened the blade of the knife and measured its length with his forefinger!