Sitting airport standby today. Same as everyday for the most part. While wasting my time on line I noticed an older gentleman making a comment on my anti-Obama sticker. I popped off an ear of my headphones and talked with him and his wife for a bit.
Before I knew it I had my headphones sitting on the counter and was just talking about my job, the weather and travel. The man is retired air force. He served in Iraq as recently as 2002. He injured his back jumping out of airplanes. Once I heard that I asked if had visited the USO facility in the airport. He had not and I showed him the way (thankfully it was close).
While he was gone I asked his wife a typical airport question, "where are you headed?". She paused for a moment and stated she wishes it were a more joyful trip. They were headed over to Germany because their youngest son's (who is serving in Iraq) wife is giving birth tomorrow. She was due in two weeks. She went on to say the baby had died and it would be a still birth. I let her know my wife and I have had our own problems having kids. We lost our first two attempts, both ending with miscarriages. I mentioned how crappy it is that people who don't take care of themselves, use drugs and never see a Doctor can have 10 kids. While people who do everything "right" have problems.
They had planned on staying in Germany for a month to help with the scheduled birth. Of course that will no longer be needed. Instead they are planning on bringing the wife back home with them as she has no family in Germany. The airline they are flying is being somewhat cooperative with the schedule changes, only requiring a Doctors note in order to come back earlier with no fee.
Normally I don't talk much with people in airports while sitting airport standby. I am normally just in my own little world. Glad I spoke up today.
Six hours of standby left.
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