Third Time Flying !

Well at 4:45 am at the Bentonville airport I guess anything can happen. While my hectic travel schedule sometimes requires some crazy scheduling, 4:45 am was pretty early for me! Maybe not surprisingly, the airport was starting to get busy for the morning flights and I picked up my boarding pass form the kiosk and headed up the escalator to go through security. I wasn’t paying much attention but right at the top of the escalators, just before the security line, there were three adults giving each other hugs. There was an older couple, maybe 70, and a middle aged woman (maybe their daughter), all sharing tearful goodbyes. Trying not to eavesdrop, I gave them a wide berth and went into security. Just before walking out of earshot, I heard the older woman exclaim, “you know honey, I’m pretty nervous… this is only my third time flying.” I was blown away, with this seemingly impossible “truth” ringing in my ears. “Third time flying”, you’ve got to be kidding! Just this week alone, across a seven day period, I will have taken flights from Atlanta>Bentonville Ark.>Dallas>Los Angeles>Phoenix>Atlanta. I will have flown on five flights in less than seven days and this is kind of an average week for me these days!

Before anyone starts to critique my current travel schedule (there’s plenty of critique to go around), let’s get back to that security line. It just seemed amazing that in this day and age, someone that age could have flown so little. I took a moment to look back at the couple as they joined me in the security line. They seemed so different from me; unsure of the security process, the gentleman trying to wear his “leatherette” coat through the x-ray machine, the woman refusing to take off her shoes. I have to admit that I found myself thinking how different I was from these two novice travelers. In a quick motion, I had my laptop and my pc out of my briefcase, shoes off, two trays filled as I quickly and silently made it through the x-ray machine. I felt superior to the older couple, more traveled, worldlier, more capable, etc….

One thing is true about the Bentonville airport, once through security there really is no place to go! I gathered my bags, slipped on my shoes (slip-ons, never tied) and stood around waiting for the coffee shop to open at 5:00am. After a few minutes and some false starts, the older couple came through security and looked around the waiting area. Instantly, the man caught the eye of the middle aged woman/daughter on the other side of the glass partition and ran to the glass. He put his hand up to the glass, matching his hand in hers on the other side of the glass, and said with tears flowing that he would “miss his honey so much while he was gone, but don’t worry, we’ll be back Sunday.” It was so real, so honest and in a rush all I wanted was to be at the glass, matching my hand with the hands of my daughter Marie, my son Bryson and my dear wife Jennie!

I felt ashamed of myself for being so lost in my own world and judging theirs. This morning, before dawn at a small Arkansas airport, I learned a lesson about what we should value. Rather than being impressed by medallion points, roller bags, or efficient slip-on shoes, I was reminded once again that the true things of value in life are often found in a tearful goodbye or a smiling welcome home! Marie, Bryson, and Jennie, I can’t wait to see you when I get home on Sunday!!!