I heh heh heard that

On the termilink in Houston, I overheard a husband teasing his wife. His seemingly sweet, "Look, she takes after her Mom" could have been taken as a compliment if the daughter he was holding hadn't been firmly grasping the vertical pole he was standing next to.

I couldn't help but laugh, prompting his wife to assure me he was kidding.

So... where ya goin'?

Am I on crack or were all the folks working security at Logan airport more chatty than usual today?

One uniformed man stood to the side of the line, making friendly eye contact and bantering with people as they walked by. A business casual attired man stood just before the security screening area and pulled aside every third or fourth person with "Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?"

Both men asked about travel plans and both managed to engage the folks they talked to.

I find it a little sad that living here 1/2 my life has trained me to see this behavior as a bit out of the ordinary. Then again, if I still lived in Texas, I might not have noticed what is most likely the outcome of some sort of TSA training.

I imagine these TSA employees were utilizing a new method for sniffing out suspicious behavior and therefore the friendly exchanges were just part of their job.

I appreciated it anyway.

In my opinion, it's a more pleasant way to be interrogated. But more than that, these guys were most likely using an unnatural skill set. Striking up conversations with  strangers is part of the culture in Texas. In Boston, it isn't.

I can't help but wonder what born and bred Bostonians will think.