I hate flying for the most part. Usually, I wind up with some dude’s back in my lap for the whole flight. Being a woman of size, that provides a problem but not enough of one that I would fork over the bucks to fly first class.

Usually, some peanuts and a beer will cure the snoring dude up front kind of discomfort. Then, there’s the novel that takes me away until I hear the ting-a-ling that lets me know we’re landing. Not so bad, the flights.

At one point this year I had thought about taking off to San Francisco to see my friends out there. Now, I’m having second thoughts. It’s not the dude pushed back in the seat either.

See, I’ve gone to the blog http://mytsahorrorstory.com/, a collection of reader-submitted horror stories about the Transportation Security Administration and what goes on during those pat downs.

Here’s an example from the Amputee Coalition of America. A traveler, Peggy, went through a security check and the TSA agent asked for her prosthetic leg. Now the agent could have used the wand on her leg, but he insisted on taking it from her. Then, he asked for the liner sock that covered her residual limb. This embarrassed her to have her residual limb exposed in public.

A woman with an underwire bra went through the screening, then was patted down by an agent.

This one comes out of Birmingham on United Airlines. This traveler goes through security about twice a week and regarded the security as just one of those things. During this latest trip the person went into the security area and removed coat and shoes and pulled out the laptop to make it easy for the TSA agent. She was wearing a dress and stepped through the metal detecter, which she cleared with no problem. Then, the agent decided to pat her down. The agent went all the way up her thigh and to her groin with the dress pulled up to the tops of her thighs and everyone could see. The agent had the traveler spread her legs. “I felt violated and still feel violated about this experience four days after it occurred.”

Who wouldn’t feel violated?

So, if you’re flying the friendly skies this holiday, just look out for the gropers on the ground. Oh, and send me a shout out.