Raise a pint to the baggage-handling hero

Who is John Smeaton? Only the toast of Scotland after helping police wrestle the airport carbombers who nearly turned the Glasgow airport into an inferno Saturday. He’s the subject of a fawning tribute website (which is a little hard to follow if you’re not Scottish) and worldwide media attention. You may never view baggage handlers in quite the same light again:

“As thousands of Glaswegians queued, moaned and sneakily sipped Buckfast on a rainy Saturday afternoon, one man stood vigilant outside the airport terminal. Baggage supervisor, hero, smoker. John Smeaton.

Little did he know, as he happily dragged on his fag, that two crazed al-Qaeda operatives were preparing to meet their maker. But they didn’t meet their maker. Instead they met BAA’s answer to Jack Bauer.

As the Jeep’s engine revved and the passenger started chucking the petrol containers out the windows like he was Santa in Shettleston, one man stepped in to help The Law take control.”

Don’t you love the Scots? The Scots love Smeaton. They’re campaigning to buy a 1000 pints of ale in his honor at the local airport bar. Our pint of Guinness is raised to ye John, with thanks that the traveler’s help often comes from the strangest places.

The BBC has a good story as well - fully in the Queen’s English. And click here for a selection of youtube videos.