It's been a long, hot summer of meltdowns for air carriers, with thousands of passengers detoured and delayed.

And then, last week, we learned Alaska Airlines sold a 15-year-old Juneau girl a one-way ticket and let her travel without showing so much as a library card.

When her parents protested, it was revealed that it is legal for children under 18 to board a plane without identification and parental consent. This, despite the fact there are 18-year-olds perfectly capable of all matter of mayhem.

But what about folks over 80?

After all, the Transportation Security Administration states it does not profile airline passengers.

White-haired nuns, saffron-robed monks or even a 1998 Senior Citizen of the Year, all get the same scrutiny as swarthy, 21-year-olds. Right?

Kitty LaPolla, an 82-year-old Camarillo resident, didn't have to show any stinkin' badges when she went through security at Burbank Airport on Aug. 7. At check-in, the gregarious great-grandmother discovered she had left her wallet with her driver's license at home.

The Southwest Airlines ticket agent offered several suggestions on how LaPolla might get her ID to the airport in time to make her flight.

None of those flew. No one has a key to her apartment except the manager, and it was too early to reach him.

LaPolla can probably talk the chicken off the bone. This lady, who was in fact the 1998 Camarillo Chamber of Commerce's Senior of the Year, has survived cancer and the loss of her son in the Vietnam War. She started college at age 62 and became a reserve deputy sheriff in Imperial County at 65. For years, she served as a teacher's aide at El Rancho Structured School in Camarillo.

"Basically I'm feisty as hell," she shared.

This strong woman's primary weakness is playing the penny slots, which is why she wanted to visit a friend in Arkansas.

The two planned a road trip to casinos up and down the Mississippi River.

So the ticket agent had a dilemma. Delay and inconvenience a little, old lady or play hard ball on the ID issue.

She relented, scrawling "NO ID" on her boarding pass and sent LaPolla on her way.

The agent followed the rules, according to Paula Berg, spokeswoman for Southwest Airlines.

"There are circumstances where we make allowances, such as passengers whose purses or wallets are stolen on their way to the airport," Berg said..

Contrary to what most of us believe, TSA rules state passengers can travel without ID if they agree to have their carry-on bags searched.

LaPolla did just that. Or as she puts it, "I had to go through all that bologna."

As one newsroom wag argued, what does it matter? It's not like Arkansas is full of targets terrorists favor. Osama and the boys probably haven't discovered the Mark Martin NASCAR Museum in Batesville or the X-Coaster at Magic Springs.

But LaPolla's flight had one stop. Vegas, baby. The skyline of Sin City is crowded with iconic structures on the al-Qaida list of greatest hits.

But her luck held, and even when she changed planes in Las Vegas, no one stopped her.

Once in Arkansas, everyone warned her: "The security here isn't like California. They are very, very strict."

LaPolla called back to Camarillo and authorized the complex manager, Dan Roberts, to enter her apartment and locate her wallet.

Roberts confirmed to me that he found it near her rocking chair and mailed LaPolla's driver's license to her in Arkansas.

Upon her return, LaPolla discovered the admonitions about security at Little Rock National Airport had been true. Even though she carried an ID for this flight, inspectors searched her bags and ordered her to dispose of her hand cream and toothpaste — the same toiletries that were in her carry-on when she supposedly was searched at Burbank.

"I can't believe they were so negligent in Burbank," she said. "And they had weapons."

LaPolla readily admits that she is happy with the way things turned out. If she had not been allowed to board her jet without ID, it would have been a major inconvenience.

"I just hope I don't get arrested for telling you this," she said.

For me the most arresting part was that ID is not required. What about those copious warnings of "do not even think about traveling without picture identification?" The terrorist hijackings of 9/11 showed how imperfect our world is.

In the nearly six years since those attacks we've also seen how imperfect airport security is.

LaPolla is a nice lady with a really good excuse. But if terrorists find still another way around the system and stage an attack, no excuse will be good enough.

— E-mail this Star columnist at cccason@aol.com.