A Christmas gift turned out to be a Christmas fail when an actor was stopped at the airport by the TSA, documenting the incident on social media.
Brett Gaffney, an actor based in Los Angeles, US, took to his social media page to share how his grandmother’s Christmas present, supposed to be a surprise to him, got him into trouble with airport security.
In the video, which has been viewed nearly 600,000 times, Brett explained: “I got stopped at the airport security, and you know what? It was because of this briefcase my grandma gave me as an early Christmas gift, and she said don’t open it until you get to California.”
Brett Gaffney shared how his grandmother’s Christmas present, supposed to be a surprise to him, got him into trouble with airport security
Image credits: brett.gaffney
Image credits: brett.gaffney
The actor went on to point to a vintage-looking beige briefcase, similar to those used by travelers in around the 1960s.
Brett continued: “I was like, ‘What is in the briefcase? It’s super heavy.’”
The Kansas native’s grandmother had told him to “just wait ’til you get there” before being able to open the suitcase, preventing him from verifying its contents prior to passing through strict airport security protocols.
He further recalled: “I was like, ‘Grandma, I’m going to the airport, like, I need to know.”
But like a good grandson, Brett respected his granny’s wishes and didn’t look inside the briefcase.
Brett’s video telling his followers about the curious incident has been viewed nearly 600,000 times
Image credits: brett.gaffney
Image credits: brett.gaffney
Unfortunately for the family, TSA agents reportedly had other plans.
Brett explained: “They asked me what was inside, and I said, ‘I don’t know, I don’t know.’ They said, ‘What do you mean? You’re bringing a briefcase, and you don’t know what’s inside?’”
The briefcase was subsequently flagged by security on the x-ray conveyor belt, and an agent then opened it and informed the actor of what was inside.
As it turns out, Brett’s loving grandmother had gifted him with a vintage typewriter.
The Kansas native’s grandmother had told him to “just wait ’til you get there” before being able to open the suitcase
Image credits: brett.gaffney
He said: “Who am I, Tom Hanks?” The Oscar-winning actor is a notable typewriter enthusiast.
Brett recalled: “Am I going to go to the park and write a whole book with a typewriter? I almost didn’t get into the airport because of this typewriter.”
You can listen to Brett’s unique story below
@brett.gaffney Airport Security said this is the second one they have seen today! #brettgaffneyforever #holidaytravel ♬ original sound – brett.gaffney
Image credits: brett.gaffney
As surprised and a little bit annoyed by the experience Brett appeared to be at first, last week, he uploaded a follow-up video of himself happily typing, with the caption, “I didn’t think I’d use this, but here we are. Its so calming.”
An article published by The Washington Times in 1995 described the end the use of typewriters.
The article described how Smith Corona Corp., one of the last U.S. companies to make typewriters at the time, had just filed for bankruptcy “after a long illness” described as “personal computers”.
Like a good grandson, Brett respected his granny’s wishes and didn’t look inside the briefcase
Image credits: brett.gaffney
Jay Fowler, who was 85 at the time of the article, had been repairing typewriters for a living since 1929.
He told the publication: “I kept going until there were no more typewriters. A good typist was almost talking to the machine.
“There was a rhythm to it. You can’t get that speed on the electronics that you can on a manual. Some of those secretaries on the Hill reached tremendous speed on tremendous machines. They could really make it talk.”
If only Jay knew now how the world has changed and how people have now completely adopted computers instead.
Most people found the whole situation quite funny
English (US) ·