Airports can be pretty awesome

CG got into town last night for something she has to do this week for her pageant reign. I went to pick her up at the airport.

I waited in the baggage claim area for her. I went to the middle of the room, but farthest away from the arrival doors so as not to add to the cluster of people who would make it very difficult for those arriving to actually get through the doors.

I watched as people started coming in one by one. A soldier came through in uniform. I heard someone start clapping, but I didn't think anything of it. When two or three more people joined, I wondered what was going on. The it clicked that they were clapping for the soldier.

Since the soldier was arriving in uniform in the airport, he was probably returning from some sort of training. He wasn't coming back from combat. If that were the case, he'd only have a layover in Dallas before flying on to his base, where he'd arrive to a welcome-home ceremony.

A couple more soldiers came through the doors, and everyone clapped for them too. I started tearing up. One female soldier entered the baggage claim area. I noticed a man seated a few feet from me rise to his feet and walk toward the doors. The woman ran toward him, jumped into his arms and stayed there for a long time. By that point, I started crying. I know what that's like.

By then, more and more soldiers were coming through the doors. We clapped for every last one of them. I don't know if the other people standing with me knew that they were more likely returning from some sort of training than from combat, but I'd like to think they did. A large portion of a soldier's job involves some sort of sacrifice. Training, even though it's safer than deploying, is still a hard thing to go through, since it means we're away for weeks at a time from the service members we love.

CG's flight arrived, and I moved closer to the door so she could see me before getting lost in the crowd of people. As soon as she came through the door, she saw me. We hugged and made our way over to the less-crowded side of the baggage claim room. We were talking and catching up when I looked over my shoulder to see someone who looked very familiar walking right by me. "Oh my gosh!" I said to CG. "That guy looks just like --" and then I saw a girl behind him looking like she was about to scream.

"Is that who I think it is?" I asked her. She nodded profusely. "Shut up!" I said. I whirled back around to look at him. "That is so cool!"

"Who? Who is it?" CG asked.

"It's Andre 3000!!!"

CG only listens to Christian music and some Broadway musical music, so she didn't know who Andre 3000 was. "He's from Outkast!" I told her. "You know the song 'Hey Ya'? He's the one who says 'Shake it like a Polaroid picture'!" That triggered it for her.

We debated going to ask him for a picture, but it was obvious he was trying to be incognito. He was wearing a straw hat, and he had the brim pulled down to try to hide his face. He was talking on his cell phone, and he immediately walked to the back of the baggage claim area, where he wouldn't be so easily seen.

Since he was on his phone, CG and I decided to not bug him. Once he hung up, we debated whether or not we should go say hi or something. A few others did. A guy next to us said they'd asked if they could take his picture, but he'd said no. It was disappointing, but I could understand. After all, he's probably just trying to get out of there like everyone else.

I decided it would be better to not bug Andre 3000. I would play it cool and not go up and tell him I think he's awesome. Instead, I proceeded to repeat, "Shut up! That is so cool!" and stare at him every two seconds with my jaw on the ground. Which I'm sure he appreciated much more.

We left the baggage claim area for a minute, and when we returned on the opposite side from where Andre 3000 had staked himself out earlier, I was surprised to see we were passing him again. He had a large suitcase with him, and he stopped off at the ATM. "He's probably withdrawing like $5,000!" I told CG.

I watched him go to the vending machine. This toolbox college-age kid in a blue polo shirt strolled up to Andre 3000 cooly (except the opposite). "Uh, excuse me, sir, but I couldn't help but notice you look a bit familiar. What's your name?"

Andre 3000 looked at him blankly. If I were him, I'd have been very annoyed. "Andre," he said. His voice sounded just like it does in his songs.

I listened closely, trying to hear what the toolbox was saying next, but I couldn't hear him. Andre 3000 just shook his head at the guy. After less than a minute, toolbox guy headed back to his friends, saying, "I just met Outkast!"

Andre 3000 left the baggage claim area shortly after that. Although it was awesome to see him, I had really wanted to get a picture with him. I couldn't help but wonder if he'd have turned down a picture if we'd have had a Polaroid camera.