Back to the states

My recent travels have brought me back to the states. I arrived back in the Midwest this past Saturday. As we spent countless hours on the plane, I was like the other 200 of us thinking, "Are we there yet?" But, when we landed, the reception we received was overwhelming. As we were taxing towards the gate, we were greeted by the Dallas-Fort Worth Fire Department. The DFW Fire and Rescue Officers salute arriving service members with its "Shower of Affection". The water salute consists of two water turrets with nozzles that discharge 1,500 gallons of water per minute, arching over the plane. As we walked thru the airport, the applause from travelers was astounding. People who had just sit down to eat were getting up and clapping and cheering as we walked to get our bags. The morning had brightened up quite a bit, but it wasn't over yet. As we walked towards the bus to go to our respective terminal, we were greeted by DFW area Boy Scouts, VFW Members and anybody else who just happened to be in the airport. The handshakes, claps and smiles from all were a great morale booster. Having small children walk up and say "Thank You" brought a smile to my heart and a tear to my face. I was very overwhelmed to see the Dallas area citizens outpouring of support for service members. As I got on my connection flight to NWA, I wondered -- how wonderful it would be if all were as supportive of service members. Usually, we have a hard time speaking intelligently of others. However, on this next issue I can speak for several others. As I stood outside waiting for the bus, about 15 of us were discussing how awesome it was to see the amount of support and appreciation as we had just received. I'm not sure if anyone from Dallas who was there that day will ever read this, but I want to say Thank You. I also want to thank everybody, everywhere who shows support for service members.