Veteran's Day

Can you think of any reason, any reason at all, why a plane full of passengers, after being delayed 2 hours to begin with, would then continue to sit quietly and voluntarily in their seats once they have finally reached their destination? I would never have been able to come up with a reason...until I was one of those passengers. I had just said all my goodbyes to my family and was headed for something new in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Jordan anxiously awaited my arrival. He had been in Tulsa and started working for American Airlines at the end of January 2011. Immediately upon his arrival there was a HUGE snowstorm leaving him trapped in our unfurnished apartment for 3 days {all of our belongings were in AZ with me}. I stayed behind to get everything loaded into moving vans, but mostly because my Grandma had just passed away and I stayed for the funeral. I too was anxious to get to Tulsa and start organizing all the moving boxes that were also arriving that day. I had a layover in Dallas and as I waited & waited for my connecting flight time ticked by. What was taking so long?! As the departure time came and went people got anxious and angry. Finally, the lady at the gates voice came over the speaker, "We would like to thank you for your patience today. We have a very special passenger who will not be riding in the cabin like the rest of you. His seat is in the belly of the plane and he is taking his last flight HOME after making the ultimate sacrifice for our country. He is being loaded into the plane, we invite you to stand while this is done." A hush went over the crowd of passengers as we all stood up. We then were all loaded on the plane. As we made our final decent into Tulsa, the pilot asked us all to please stay seated when we arrive at the gate. A military escort and the young man's family would be there to welcome the fallen soldier home. 

Every one of us stayed seated and watched from the windows as the fire truck lights flashed, his fellow soldiers saluted, marched, and carried his coffin to that heartbroken family. 

As the lights faded, with tears in our eyes the rest of us got off the plane. I will never forget the feeling of gratitude and love I felt that day. I am reminded of the sacrifices these men and women make when I think back on this experience.

The song, "Home" by Dierks Bentley says the rest of what I want to say, better than I can say it:

"Home"

West, on a plane bound west
I see her stretching out below
Land, blessed mother land
The place where I was born

Scars, yeah she’s got her scars
Sometimes it starts to worry me
Cause lose, I don’t wanna lose
Sight of who we are

From the mountains high
To the wave crashed coast
There’s a way to find
Better days I know

It’s been a long hard ride
Got a ways to go
But this is still the place
That we all call home
Free, nothing feels like free
Though it sometimes means we don’t get along
Cause same, no we're not the same
But that’s what makes us strong

From the mountains high
To the wave crashed coast
There’s a way to find
Better days I know

It’s been a long hard ride
Got a ways to go
But this is still the place
That we all call home

Brave, gotta call it brave
To chase that dream across the sea
Names, and they signed their names
For something they believed

Red, how the blood ran red
And we laid our dead in sacred ground
Just think, wonder what they think
If they could see us now

It’s been a long hard ride
Got a ways to go
But this is still the place
That we all call home

It’s been a long hard ride
And I won’t lose hope
This is still the place
That we all call home

Thanks to all who serve our country and all who have served our country. May God bless you.