EDITORIAL: A reminder, a hassle and a sigh of relief

Thursday was a chilling reminder that we live in a new day and age, with new worries that can never be too far from our minds.

British authorities managed to thwart an alleged terrorist plot to blow up airplanes, a plot that officials are saying showed hallmarks of Al Qaeda operations. The terrorists planned to use liquid explosives to bring the planes down.

As a result, Thursday was a chaotic day at airports across the country and throughout the world, including at John Wayne Airport, where passengers were stuck in long lines, had to dump items such as shampoo and water, and in general faced the delays and hassles of travel under heightened security.

It was a credit to both those passengers and workers at John Wayne that the typical response to the delays Thursday was along the lines of Elaine Williams of Corona del Mar, who said: “We had to repack this morning, but it did not take too long. We’re not nervous because we arrived early.” And there was San Clemente resident Robert Strand, who said of airport security, “They’re doing their job, so it’s a cool deal — just a little hassle.”

By Friday, security at John Wayne was largely back to normal, a quick turnaround that probably could be attributed to the efficiency of workers and the foresight of passengers to change what they might be carrying on their flights.

At this point, we all are again lucky that our lives in the shadow of terrorism and attacks on U.S. citizens largely comes down to little inconveniences and nothing more.

Hope and pray it remains that way.