Last fall I did a trip up to Canada with a concertina as carry-on. The Guys at Airport security were freaked out with what they saw in the luggage scanner. All those buttons and wired and complicated machinery. I was pulled aside and told to open the case.

"Aye, sir" says me. So I open it and pull out my new, custom-built Morse 30 button Anglo concertina.

"Turn it on", says the TSA man. Not bothering to explain that it wasn't electrical, I slipped my hands into the snug leather straps, drew a bellows full of air and belted out a fine(and very loud) rentition of "Sailor's hornpipe". Half way through the second chorus, the red-faced TSA guy recovered from the shock and asked me put the damned contraption away...and he weren't too polite about it niether. Everyone in the long line was smiling approvingly.

Almost exactly the same thing happened on the way back from Canada, except that time sweetly squeezed out "Farewell to Nova Scotia" in honor of our gracious hosts.

Next time, I'll just play the damned thing while I'm in line.