(Ed. note: This essay was written earlier this fall. What can I say? I’ve been busy.)

I’m an easy-going guy. But, the one thing I don’t deal with well is being told “because” as a reason.

Flying out of Detroit Monday, security agents asked me to remove my shoes. Okay, no problem; I did. I asked first, “Is this really necessary?” Yes, I was told. Everyone has to remove their shoes, she told me.

Here’s where my problem comes in: I’ve flown to and from a half dozen destinations this year, and no other airport asks me to remove my shoes. Orlando International, my usual origin, does ask people to remove some shoes, but I’ve been waved through at that airport each time. “Oh, those don’t set off the detectors,” they’ve told me, gesturing to my canvas All Stars.

I’ve been to Houston and Washington, DC, this year, and gotten the same treatment. If I can fly into the nation’s capitol wearing my Converse, that tells me these shoes fit into the “safe” category. So, I wear them I fly.

In fact, I asked Transportation Security Administration officials on trips last year about this specific issue. In that instance, security asked me to remove my Doc Martins. Combat boots have steel rods in their soles, they said. Except, of course, Doc Martins. If they did, I wouldn’t be able to bend the sole like I can. As the agent ran my boots through the X-ray, I asked. Nope, no steel rods in there.

Still, being both easy-going and reasonable, I can see how TSA agents might widely believe that combat-boot style shoes set off metal detectors. Many of them do.

But, canvas Chuck Taylors?

I know that the TSA is keen to prevent the next Richard Reid from boarding a plane. That’s their job, and I hope they do it well. All I ask is to know what to expect, and for the TSA to use a little consistency.