Our flight left South Carolina around 1:00 in the morning and we were stopping in Bangor, Maine to top off before heading across the Atlantic. It was around 3:30 when we landed - I was only awake because we had to deplane for fueling. I was wiped out after the combo of the in-flight meal and movie: baked chicken breast with rice and veggies, and Blades of Glory respectively.
I was around the last of the people to get off the plane because I had to put my boots back on, figure out if I wanted to take my laptop and huddle around an open outlet and search for a wireless connection like bums under a bridge huddling around a fire in a drum....you know the drill while you’re traveling. We didn’t look or smell that bad yet though because we hadn’t made it into double digits on the ol’ travel time counter.
At the end of the ramp I finally got to meet the world-famous Maine Troop Greeters. At first I thought there were just some REAL friendly people at the airport for a painfully early flight who happened to meet the first few people off the plane and decided to shake hands after hearing about our destination. I was right in a few respects. They were very friendly, knew where we were headed, but they weren’t chance passengers. Nope, they WANTED to be there to greet us. I remembered seeing a news article once about them, but my sleep-fog wasn’t lifted until I turned the corner and saw their room:
http://www.themainetroopgreeters.com/index.html
I can’t say enough about these great people! Most are veterans themselves, or they’re family members of veterans. The value of their sacrifice and service can not be measured, and they STILL continue to give.
Thanks so much!
