Today was no different in that respect. As I was getting into the security check-point line at the Nashville airport (BNA), I see my VUSN colleague, Matt M. I hadn't seen him in a while, and one of my last memories with him was when a few of us went to Ibiza to go salsa dancing. So we spent some time catching up and it made the wait for our delayed plane more bearable. My pearl of the day [ or at least so far] was meeting Officer McNabb. Officer Mcnabb is in the army ( and I'm not sure what rank so i'm not sure what correct title to call him). This gentleman was one of 5 U.S. serviceman on our flight, and he was headed back to Iraq. I had heard him asking to use the phone of another gentleman who, interestingly, was a member of the French armed forces [ although he was dressed in plain clothes and traveling with a guitar]. The Frenchman [ I will call him this as I didn't catch his name] said his phone was low on battery and that he didn't know how to dial the phone within the U.S. So after an unsuccessful attempt at calling a significant other with the inoperable phone, Officer Mcnabb says "thanks anyways".
I hesitated to offer him use of my phone as I was selfishly worried about whether he would think it was strange that I was watching his unsuccessful attempt [ as he was soft talker, and I was clearly eavesdropping]. Anyhow, I got over my pride and offered him my phone. He called, left a message. And then his fiance called him back [I didn't know it was his fiance at the time]. Officer Mcnabb had a soft demeanor about him, and he seemed visibly distraught ( not in the sense that he was on the verge of crying, but that look you see in someone's eyes when they aren't quite at peace. Well, come to find out, Officer Mcnabb has been on multiple tours in Iraq, and is headed there for another year long tour. He had just proposed to his girlfriend who lives in Nashville, and she said "YES!!!". Officer Mcnabb had been fairly straight-faced, until he displayed a gleaming smile when we began talking about his future wife. So we chit-chatted for a bit, and then after a few minutes I noticed he had placed what looked to be money, on top of my luggage. He said, with a smile "a little souvenir for you". He had placed a authentic "25" Iraqi bill, from the Hussein regime. Something that is surely not in circulation anymore, and what looked to be something he was keeping in good condition. I thanked him for his gift and just stared at it for several seconds. It wasn't that having Iraqi money was particularly special to me, but it was this soldier's kind gesture to me that touched me so much. I will be praying for Officer Mcnabb and the soldiers he's serving with any chance I get.
Well I made it to ATL after some delay and was welcomed with the usual hustle and bustle of people running past me trying to make their connection flight. Hartfield-Jackson is one of the busier airports that I've been to. There hasn't been one time that I can remember where you couldn't see people running. Anyhow, I enjoy concourse E of this airport because they have a delicious and aesthetically unique ( foliage printed wall paper, all white/steel tables, bamboo floor) restaurant called One Flew South. Talk about dcelicious sushi. Unfortunately today I flew into and departed from Concourse D, which had only Chilis to offer. At Chilis I sat next to a sweet couple from Conneticut who were having several rounds of margaritas. It was the cutest. The husband was 81, and said his wife couldn't fly without having a few drinks so they had decided to use their layover time "wisely". Haha. They were a hoot.
An hr. or two later, I met up with the other JM (Jan Margaret) as we had planned our ATL to melbourne, FL flight together. After another delay we boarded the plane but in separate seats. Now I've already mentioned two great conversations that I've had at the airport but the last, and most interesting one was with a sweet lady sitting to the right of me. Ms. Evadne, a grandmother of 5, was returning from a month long stay at her daughter's house. She didn't hesitate to share, with much pride, the pictures of her grandchildren. I felt so honored to be getting a glimpse of her life, even though we had just met. She shared with me the fact that her grandson had Autism, and some of the struggles he went through. It made me think of how little I know of it, but also how much more of a topic of discussion it seems to have become. We not only bonded on the depth of our discussion but we also literally held on to each other as the plane seemed to see-saw through the air as we were going through a mini-storm. Haha and interestingly enough, she was Catholic, so we both did the sign of the Cross at the same time. Fortunately, the turbulence in the air was the worst of my day.
I'm sharing all of this mainly because these encounters, and the conversations I had today, are the little things that remind us how similar we all are, but also how much we truly can learn from any single individual we meet. That's part of the reason I love airports. There are so many interesting people there!
My next post will probably be after Vanessa's wedding! wooohooo!
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