R.D.U. Airport Singers Make Saying Goodbye less tragic

R.D.U. Airport Singers Make Saying Goodbye less tragic

by

I show you something fantastic and you find fault.
Published on November 11th, 2009, 7:45 am
Rift: Travel

: airport_goodbye_sadness.jpg (8.99 KiB) Viewed 516 times

So with an hour to spare till my brother (aka the Broinlaw) flew in from Chicago, me and Shannon stood side by side watching the people as they exited the from the security point into the main terminal and made their way down to baggage point. I've always been a big fan of just observing people. Especially at airports where there's tears, happiness, sadness, all in one place. Families seeing family for the first time in years, people glad to be home, people just glad not to be sitting in a cramped airliner. Then there's the people departing. Families sobbing not knowing when they'll see each other again. Parents saying goodbye to their children.

There was one particular moment when a family moved near the security point in the terminal and the entire family began crying. First there was the first set of hugs followed by the general niceties, "call me when you get there and such", followed by a second round of hugs, now even more passionate. The kissing, followed by the tears, then the heart felt emotions, the "I love you's", and the "I'll be right here waiting for you's". It was like trying to separate welded steel with a spoon... In that moment, in that terminal.... that family was having the most intense dramatic storyline one could ever hope to watch without a TV. To be quite honest I enjoyed it. It was good entertainment. I wanted to run up to them and yell Bravo!!!! Though I realize how patronizing that could be, their embrace truly did emotionally move me, and I make no pun when I quote Shakespeare that "All the world's a stage".

This is when I turned to Shannon and said, "What if we just go up over by where they are and start singing: farewell, so long, till we meet again!". To which she replied "Liv!!! That's horrible...." Then suggested we'd be better off with a rendition of "I'm leaving on a jet plane...."

Thanks to "Final Destination" I can't help but think of Rocky Mountain High.

It's funny how exotic that song was in its day "Leavin' on a jet plane'.

Back when 'Jet-set' was a wow word, evoking images of luxury, smart uniformed women catering to your every need.

Now flying in a jet plane is a tedious, squalid experience, only tolerable because hopefully there's something nice at the destination.