Have guns, will travel

For a reason unbeknownst to me, it became imperative to transport a few family heirloom weapons back with me to Minnesota on this trip.

I am not apprehensive about having guns in the house, but I was a bit apprehensive about the transport of them. I carefully read over all things TSA before the journey. But hey, if you are going to have your first experience travelling with guns, I figure Texas is a good place to start. After all, it's Texas. Sure enough, the entire process was no big deal. I had a bigger hassle when I accidentially carried aerosol hairspray in my bag. And much bigger hassle when I refused to throw away all 5 ounces of my new 50-dollar moisturizer that I mistakenly forgot in my carry-on bag.

The special screener actually seemed rather disappointed my guns were so uninteresting. Afterwards, he sat back down with a dejected look on his face, crossed his legs, and continued reading "Monday Night Jihad." No kidding. All Texas stereotypes wrapped up in one screener. No jihadist is getting through on his watch. No sir.

Boy, it was rough hitting -10 degrees the night we flew back in after experiencing 60s in Arkansas. We won't see that weather again until May or June.

Here I am in the airport at 1 am, waiting for the airport shuttle. I am proudly holding up my new Razorback birdhouse.

We stopped at a great little interstate BBQ joint for one last, authentic taste of good BBQ before coming back to the land of salt and pepper. It was truly Texas--advertised BBQ, pecans, and the home of Miss Texas 2005. Couldn't help but grab a birdbox that said actually said "Texarkana" on it. It should make a good conversation piece for the birds.

When I got back to work, my coworkers couldn't help but stop by my desk to chime, "Shannon's got a gun..."