Welcoming Our Troops

A memorable twenty minutes at the airport.

Soon to be equipped with circus music.

(DALLAS, Tx.) - I am picking up a Turkish friend from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport in Texas. His arrival happens to coincide with that of a planeload of U.S. soldiers back from a foreign theater of operations, in what appears to be a regular occurrence given the giant Welcome Home plaque permanently installed on the wall here in the arrivals hall, thanking troops for their service.

Family members have gathered with American flags and are being shepherded into two rows, forming an aisle in preparation for the arriving troops. The shepherds consist of a pudgy blond woman with a clipboard and a grey-haired military veteran with a baseball cap and an earpiece via which he is tracking troop movements toward the baggage claim.

The veteran is also in charge of the stereo that has been set atop a trashcan off to one side. Following confirmation by the earpiece, the stereo starts to blare music appropriate for a carousel. Behind the trashcan is a television screen featuring footage of previous troop homecomings and children hugging their fathers, lest the emotion of the actual moment not suffice. On hand are several video cameras to capture shots for future emotional recycling.

The soldiers trickle in through double doors and make their way down the aisle, beaming graciously. The receiving lines cheer, hug, wave flags, and give high fives. Arriving passengers not clad in camouflage are shooed into a detour route around the aisle, aside from an elderly Indian couple greeted as national heroes due to some oversight by the veteran with the earpiece.

The troops are presented with individual Ziploc bags of Halloween candy and proceed out of the spotlight. Twenty minutes later the spectacle has come to an end, the aisle has dispersed, and the stereo has been shut off and removed from atop the trashcan. When two camouflage-clad stragglers emerge from the double doors, the remaining components of the welcoming committee muster a smattering of applause. Perhaps it was the circus music that sustained the victory.

==========================================================

Belén is a feature writer at Pulse Media. Her articles also have appeared in CounterPunch, Narco News, Palestine Chronicle, Palestine Think Tank, Rebelión, Tlaxcala, The Electronic Intifada, Upside Down World, and Venezuelanalysis.com. Her book “Coffee with Hezbollah,” a humorous political travelogue chronicling her hitchhiking trip through Lebanon in the aftermath of the 2006 Israeli assault, is available at Amazon, Amazon UK, and Barnes and Noble.

Born in Washington, DC, in 1982, Belén earned her bachelor's degree with a concentration in political science from Columbia University in New York City. Her diverse background of worldwide experiences, created a fantastic writer; one whose work we are extremely happy to share with Salem-News.com viewers. You can contact Belén at: belengarciabernal@gmail.com