Category Archives: -John McCarthy

Stories from the Road: Airport Diaries Pt 1 TSA Precheck Survival Guide

For over a year, I’ve written about bookstores. It’s a pleasure for me to find new independent stores, support them with my patronage, and promote them through this blog. I will continue to do this as there are still stores I’ve not visited. Some I’ve been told about and others are still waiting to be noticed. At this time, I’m expanding my stories to include other travel tales. It’s amazing both in good, surprising, and head-shaking ways. As I share these please comment below or to my Twitter—https://twitter.com/JMcCarthyEdS–your thoughts and experiences. Have you gone through a similar experience? What have you seen. Let’s share our stories from the road…

Stories from the Road: Airport Diaries, Part 1 TSA Precheck Survival

Airport travel is an acquired skill-set that anyone can pick up. The regular security lines are a great place to learn the ropes before ever setting foot in a TSA Precheck line. That line is for all of those who went through a rigorous background check so that they can get through security faster, without taking off shoes, belts, wallets, and anything in pockets. The bonus is passing through the metal detector instead of the body scanner.

There are three things to know about TSA Precheck that makes the experience smooth and low stress for you and those in line behind you.

Do not get into the TSA Precheck line if you don’t have the clearance.

This may seem too obvious, but it happens 9 times out of 10 at Detroit Metro Airport. I enter the gate where the banner signifies the pathway for TSA Precheck only. There are four people in front of me. Three of the four people are told by the polite security personnel to go to the line for normal processing. I can understand how one person might mistakenly enter the line, but three is not an accident. The first person gets their ticket scanned and the resultant beep indicates they do not have the clearance. When this is explained, the other people in line should realize their fate.

No logo for TSA Precheck on the ticket means no entrance. Somehow they must think that their situation will be different. It’s not. The rest of us who went through the background check, set up the soonest available appointment 30 days out, and paid the fee are now held up from our short connection* because of these people who did not go through the vetting process. Please do not try to take the short line if you do not have TSA Precheck. Security will not let you through.

Just to be clear for those unfamiliar with TSA Precheck: These travelers go through a shorter and faster security check line because we’ve been vetted, and because not enough people have gone through the process to slow the line. This means we might show up for our flights under the recommended two hours, perhaps with 45 minutes to an hour before our gate closes. Time is of the essence. Each person trying to cut the line without clearance leads to unnecessary stress. Yes, we should be responsible for choosing to operate on a short timeline, but now we can blame the non-vetted person instead.

Have ticket and ID ready

During one security check in Raleigh-Durham, there was a line of five of us. We all waited patiently for our turn to see the security person reviewing tickets and id. The couple in front of me on their turn, walked up to the security and proceeded to shuffle through pockets and purse to find their ticket and ID. They took their time as if no line of TSA Precheck travelers were not burning holes into their backs.

Just as with the normal security line, please have your plane ticket and ID ready to show. This is especially important for the TSA Precheck line. You’re dealing mostly with seasoned travelers who expect everyone to do their part on getting through the line as fast as possible. Not having a ticket and ID ready is like going to present before a seasoned professional group having not prepared for the event.

Listen and follow directions

Once past the ticket and ID security point, the staff reminds everyone what they can and cannot take through the screening. What they say is specific and concrete. Some of those rules (as of this posting) are:

Leave all tech inside your bags
Empty pockets, except for wallet
Leave your shoes on
Do not take off your belt

The rest is standard fare from the normal security, such as amounts of liquids.

A first time TSA Precheck traveler may be disconcerted. That’s understandable, and why the security people endlessly repeat the above information. Listen. Follow their directions. Freezing like a scared animal is not a good tactic when there are experienced travelers waiting behind you. Best to step out of the line to gather your thoughts or turn for help. A security person or harried traveler will be happy to assist, if only to get the line moving again.

Safe travels.

The Bookbug: Catch the bug

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While visiting Kalamazoo, MI for the show, Last Comic Standing, at Western Michigan University, I came across a gem of a bookstore: The Bookbug.

Located in a plaza, the Bookbug is an independently owned store in an area with one other bookstore, Barnes and Noble. This can make survival of a small business challenging. Yet, on entering the store, I immediately felt like I was in a cozy warm café, where I could sample some books and find the one or few to purchase for home. Full disclosure: there is no café in the store. It just has that inviting feeling to relax and read. The selections are quite wide so as to satisfy any type of reader. There is a fun area for little ones to explore many treasures.

The owner started the store because of her passion for bookstores along her travels. Settled in Kalamazoo, she found the courage to start Bookbug. It’s a worthy store whose qualities would easily compete with many bookstores across the country.

If you pass through Kalamazoo, stop in at Bookbug. You will be refreshed and inspired.

The Bookbug

3019 Oakland Dr, Kalamazoo, MI 49008
(269) 385-2847

A Tale of 3 Bookstores in Seoul–Part Three

교보문고 광화문점

South Korea, 서울특별시 Jongno-gu, Jong-ro, 1

This has been a fun trip for me to relive the experiences I had visiting these three bookstores in Seoul, South Korea. With one more to share, I’m hopeful to return to them someday and spend more time. If you get there before me, please send pictures of the stores, and you’re favorite books in Korean. Would love to hear other’s experiences at these places, and recommendations for other bookstores in the area that one should visit.

The third bookstore, Kyobo Book, was the furthest walk, approximately 3 blocks from the subway, which in the downtown area, street blocks are long. There are several vendors in small structures, selling magazines, food, maps, and other items that you might find useful in an urban area. I almost did not find the last location. The first person I asked for help, one of the vendors, only spoke Korean, and I only knew a few words. Need to brush up for any future trips. I showed the name of the store on the map, but she could not help. She called on someone else on the street to help, but no luck there. A pair of police officers pointed me in the right direction: 30 yards away, stairs went down. From a distance, one would not know there were stairs. Below was the store logo. Glass doors opened into what can be best described as a mall. Rows of books, jewelry, technology, clothing, food court, and…did I mention books. The space was larger than the other stores. There was much activity and merchandise that it would take hours to fully appreciate it all.

The English Language section was expansive enough to compete with a small bookstore in the US. It was in this store that I purchased my keepsake: The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien, in Korean. Like the stores previously shared in posts, the store was well organized and pristine. This store had a feel of elegance beyond the other stores that from my experience is only rivaled by Books Kinokuniya in Sydney Australia (a future post). The place is only one level, but expansive. It’s the place to take your family and friends where they can find something to do while you peruse the books to your heart’s content. Get a coffee drink, a snack, or meal while passing the time with a book, as your partner is shopping for clothes, jewelry, or any of the other many options that this store provides. I’m sure there are other stores like this one and the other two in the world. I hope to have the opportunity to share those with you some day.

A Tale of 3 Bookstores in Seoul: YPBooks

A Tale of 3 Bookstores in Seoul, Part I: Bandi Luni’s

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In the course of my travels I’ve had the pleasure of visiting some special bookstores in the United States. So it’s an amazing experience to visit some in other parts of the world. While in Seoul, South Korea, there was an opportunity to visit three bookstores in one day. That’s quite a feat for an American with no knowledge of the Korean language. But with a map, directions to the subway from the hotel concierge, and truly helpful people on the streets, I navigated my way to some memorable experiences. I considered writing about all three stores in one blog, but that felt like a disservice to each of the locations. There are similarities and differences.

What follows is a trilogy about these intriguing bookstores, which when visiting Seoul you must visit all three. They are within 3 blocks of each other, and well worth spending an hour to a day in–no exaggeration. We’ll begin this journey with the shortest stop, and with each post, the stay will be longer–for reasons that will become quite apparent. All three are quality places as you’ll see.

Bandi Luni’s

반디앤루니스 종로타워점

South Korea, 서울특별시 종로구 종로2가 6

When taking the subway in Seoul to the downtown area, there are several stops that include stores underground. There’s shopping for clothes and food. Unlike some of the underground train stations I’ve taken in the US, the area is clean and free of any funky smells that you would not want near an eating establishment. Now before someone from New York City gets upset, Union Square is an exception that I was quite impressed with. I’d also include an underground shopping mall/subway in Washington DC. I don’t remember the name but I’m sure someone can help me out. Between those two, Washington DC rates higher because there is a major bookstore–Barnes and Noble. In Seoul, each of the stops I explored had sprawling stores–not just one location.

The first bookstore, Bandi Luni’s, on our list has an underground entrance from the subway. Entering the store, I was reminded of the Books A Million chain where there are books for sale, and many other products to purchase. Only this store felt more like an upscale department store. Books were the centerpiece. There were also sections of the store dedicated to other items such as tech accessories for phones, tablets, and laptops. Major bookstores like Books A Million, Barnes and Noble, and Schuler’s Books has the same, but this place had more than a couple of shelves. It felt like mini-department store spaces dedicated to merchandise other than books. There were two levels of this store to explore and find items that one would not normally find in a bookstore. The book genre selection could hold it’s own with any of the bookstores in the US. There is a small selection of books in English, while the majority are in Korean. Some of the staff spoke English, which made easier navigating the merchandise.

When you’re done exploring the two floors, step outside on the second floor on to the streets of downtown. Kitty corner and half a block away is the location of our next stop. A place that both elevates the bookstore experience, and takes it to a new level that I’ve not found anywhere in my travels in the US and Sydney Australia.

Have you been to a bookstore with far more amenities than books? What’s the name and location? What was your experience?

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