Ask Amy: Priority hierarchy irks frequent flier

Dear Amy: I travel by air for work relatively often and have TSA PreCheck to get through security faster.

My regional airport allows Clear to operate there, and I find myself getting angry every time a Clear employee escorts someone in front of me in line without acknowledging my presence, asking my permission or apologizing for cutting in front of me.

I've been trying to think of a clever way to preemptively signal that I'm not OK with them jumping in front of me. Any thoughts?

Amy says: For those unfamiliar with Clear, it is a private company that uses biometrics (iris scan and fingerprints) to expedite passage through airport security lines. The company's website says that they offer human "ambassadors" to escort clients to the front of security lines.

Just as you have paid extra to join the TSA PreCheck queue (allowing you to bypass many of the security checks other passengers tolerate), cutting the line seems to be the privilege these customers are purchasing.

An "ambassador" should make eye contact with you and say something like: "Excuse me — I'm escorting this Clear customer through the expedited line. Thank you for your patience." On the other hand, they might see any interchange with other passengers as opening the door to complaints.

Your question was about how to respond to this. I have no clever response, but saying, "After you ... have a nice flight," might inspire an acknowledgment or a more polite response from them.

After healing from the divorce, I got into a two-year relationship with an abusive man, who, unfortunately, was also named Dan. My family and I eventually referred to this man as "Bad Dan" to clarify which Dan was being spoken about in conversation.

Fast-forward a couple of years, and I'm once again in a healthy relationship with a great guy whose name — yes! — also happens to be Dan.

I'm struggling with creative and respectful ways of referring to all these Dans! Luckily, after taking legal steps to protect ourselves, "Bad Dan" is now completely out of the picture. However, my ex-husband and current boyfriend will both (I hope!) be in my life for some time to come.

Do you have any suggestions?

Amy says: This Dan thing is NBD ("No Big Deal," or "No Bad Dan"). Could your current Dan be Danny? Could your ex-husband be Dan-X?

But rather than try to sort all this out by yourself, simply ask these Dans what they'd prefer. You never know: One of them might be harboring a secret wish to be addressed by his initials or to even assume an alias.

Dear Amy: A grandmother wrote to you that she was worried her teen granddaughters were only visiting to get to her collection of Beanie Babies.

I would suggest she put the Beanies in a safe deposit box, not tell any of her family members about it and then see how often they come to visit.

Amy says: Aside from wondering how many of these stuffed toys would fit into a safe deposit box (a storage unit might be better suited for this collection), this begs the existential question: If my Beanie Babies don't exist, do I?