Big Leather Couch

Another long travel day comes to an end...

The flight from Chicago and Atlanta was not without an incident, and I would like to congratulate the two flight attendants for Trans Air for their total professionalism.

But back to the beginning. We boarded and plugged in the earphones to listen to the free XM Radio they have on board. We read the latest Rolling Stone for a while and then closed our eyes. At one point we felt a presence in the aisle and opened our eyes.

In the aisle, two of the seat occupants from across from us are standing and the third, a male is bent over and obviously in pain. One of the flight attendants and one of the two passengers are wearing latex gloves and we then see that the ill passenger has obviously gotten sick.

We hear them talking and the sick passenger mentions kidney stones. Well we know all about them. They find a nurse on board and a gastroenteroligist who come to help. The man says he does not have his pain meds and we curse under my breath. We do have my pain meds with us, but for like the first time in years, we have checked our bags and the meds are below in stowage.

The two flight attendants then talk to the captain and they are speaking to the ground, whether to divert and land. The doctor informs them it is not life threatening, so we continue on to Atlanta. The two flight attendants were patient, kind, attentive while they needed to toss the seat cushions from the row, and try and clean up the mess. As we deplaned, we told them both exactly that.

When the flight lands, of course they ask everyone to remain seated when we get to the gate. OF COURSE four or five people stand immediately upon hearing the ding and have to be told to sit - what the frick is wrong with people? The doctor, nurse and sick passenger all move quickly off the plane.

We finally deplane and we go to one of the smoking lounges in the Atlanta airport...one of the few that still have them (they also still have lockers, which - if you fly frequently - you know that most airports no longer have lockers for you to store your luggage...)

While sitting there we notice a young soldier in fatigues standing against the wall. We watch his face. It is pained, no doubt about it. As I leave,we walk around toward him and ask, "On your way home?" (We needed to ask that way).

He replies, our eyes locked, "No Sir, on my way back, second tour." His eyes are so sad and there is a fear in them also. We put our hand on his shoulder and grabbed his hand in a firm shake "Sir, you be safe, God bless you and thank you for your bravery." He took a breathe and replied "Thank you Sir, second tour." Like he was disbelieving he had to return again.

We can see this young man's face in our mind right now, and do not know if we will ever forget it.

Thankfully, Atlanta to Memphis was a short, uneventful flight.

We pray for every single one of our young men and women each night...