It gets worse: Ryan Thomas was en route to Orlando, to celebrate his fourth birthday at Disney World. Now we know how the Grinch got his start: airport security.

Ryan's parents complained; a TSA higher-up overruled them. The boy eventually made it through the security checkpoint, walking solo without his leg braces (the screener would not allow Ryan's mother to hold his hand) without injuring himself. Hopefully he had the greatest birthday of his life in Orlando. (Which shouldn't have been hard, since he's four.) [PhillyInq] [Pic, not of Ryan Thomas, via AP]