[by Danny]
It was sometime around 1977 or 1978. I was living in Los Angeles with Dave and Del and Merle. Les came to town from TN for a visit. One of his old friends who lived in San Francisco told Les he could get tickets to a weekend Grateful Dead concert in SF, special seating, because his friend had some kind of connections. So Les contacted some more friends, Michael and Shelley, and some others also. Only Michael and Shelley and I could get away on a minute's notice. (Les was good at moving from here to there to everywhere on a minute's notice!). So before you know it, Les, Michael, Shelley and I were at LAX getting on a plane to SF to go to the concert.
After the long weekend of Grateful Dead experience with all the trimmings, the four of us are on our way to the airport to return to LA. Leslie decides he wants to bring back a gift for Del. So we make a quick stop at a strip mall store and he buys her a La Machine (a food processor that slices and dices!).
We get to the airport and in our seats on the plane with barely a minute to spare. Les puts the La Machine box under the seat. The plane is now taxing out to the runway. Here comes the stewardess making her rounds and she says to Les, "That box is too big to be under the seat. I will take it up front and you can get it when you deplane". Les says "OK, no problem, just be careful, it's a bomb, ha,ha".
She takes the box and walks toward the front of the plane. After a couple more minutes of taxiing, the plane begins to make a U-turn heading back to the terminal. Looking out the window, we see fire engines, police cars, ambulances and other security cars coming towards our plane.
We arrive at the gate. Very quickly the plane door opens, in come U.S. Marshals, FBI and airport security. What's up we wonder nervously?? They walk directly to Les. "Come with us" says one of them to Les. As he is being escorted off the plane, I very quickly decide that I better get off the plane as well and follow them, telling them that I'm his brother.
I follow them to a security office where I find Les being questioned. I walk right into the room, identify myself and start explaining to the authorities that he was only joking and it was obvious to everyone it seemed. Evidently not.
After about a half hour of me telling them he's not a criminal type, he's from a good family, The La Machine is for his mother, we just spent the weekend at a Grateful Dead concert, please let him go, they finally let us go after booking us a room at the airport hotel and booking us on another flight the next morning back to LA.
Once Les and I were alone at our hotel room, I yelled at him "What the hell were you thinking?!? It's like yelling this is a stick up in the middle of a bank!!" I tell him "This event could change the course of air travel!"
And the rest is history. You decide.
I love you Les, I always will. You were a great brother and friend, but sometimes a little scary to travel with!!
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