A Hero Comes Home

My mother and I are at the airport now waiting for our flight to board.

It was a relatively painless process to go through security.

While we were waiting in line, there was an announcement over the loudspeaker about a man coming home from overseas.

The announced his arrival gate and invited people to be there to welcome him.

It just so happened that our gate was directly across from his.

We stopped to get food and almost missed seeing it.

My mother an I both support the troops, so we were glad we didn't miss it.

It was really something to see. Just as we were walking up, the applause broke it.

It really made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside to see that huge crowd of people applauding an American soldier.

Then I got extra happy for a number of reasons.

#1: He was so young. He wasn't some accomplished military man with three purple hearts, but he still got a huge reception.

#2: knowing the history of the varied ways our servicemen get treated by the general public, I'm happy this man was received so well.

#3: He was black. It was a moment in history I can point to that I witnessed where people didn't seem to see color, they only saw merit. No random white people looked suddenly less proud because he wasn't one of the "us" that Sarah Palin and her people claim constantly.

#4: He had his family with him. They all looked so happy and proud. They looked overwhelmed, but in a good way.

Times like this make me proud to be American. The support we give each other disproves some of the narrative about how divided this country has become.

It was a nice moment to have right before I get on a plane to visit my nation's capital.
CeCe Savage