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April Fools Day DOTTY Awards from the DOT
The Dotties, as they’re known, were created to celebrate such buffoonery and to honor the antics of travelers who, let’s face it, probably shouldn’t be allowed out of the house. They were named after the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), which, it turns out, made its official debut on April Fools’ Day (in 1967). As noted here previously, the Dotty nominating committee assumes that’s merely a coincidence, but given what follows, figures it’s rather apropos.
The Open Mouth, Insert Foot Award In December, Shalom Yarimo was arrested for interfering with a flight crew on a flight between New York and Los Angeles. Witnesses say he was shouting at the flight attendants and running up and down the aisle, while the FBI says he may also have been in the country illegally. To which the judges would just like to say, dude, if you’re not legal, you might want to lower your profile a little.
A similar shout-out goes to Mark Rimkufski, who wasn’t allowed to board a flight in Miami in March because the door had already been closed. Undeterred, he flashed a fake badge, claimed to be an air marshal and convinced airline employees to let him board. Unfortunately for Mr. Rimkufski, his fellow passengers included actual air marshals, who examined his imitation ID and booted him off the plane.
And the Dotty goes to ... Mr. Rimkufski, who, upon his ejection, proceeded to complain so loudly about missing his flight that he was arrested by airport police. Real ones.
