Welcome Back Will

Before I proceed, let me finish a detail from my last post. The City of High Point, NC called this morning and paid the $77 and change bill I sent them last week. I finally beat The Man! This marks the first time that I have ever been paid by a government entity to fill out their own mindless paperwork. Since all government employees are paid to do this stuff every day, I guess I'm now just like them.

The lesson I have learned from this experience is that any time I am asked to fill out paperwork, I'm going charge for it. I don't care if it's a driver's license renewal, income tax form or food stamp application, I'm charging a hundred bucks an hour. Thanks, High Point, NC!

I remember getting off my mission from PA in April of 1976. One of the hot songs at the time was called "Welcome Back" from the tv show Welcome Back Kotter. I always think of that song when I think of my homecoming. "Welcome back, welcome back, welcome back..."

Anyway, today we welcomed back one of our sons from two years in the mission field, North Carolina Raleigh. Will served well and honorably. He has matured immensely and I sense our time with him in the future will be very pleasant. He's grown up a lot as have I a little.

I know it looks like I haven't eaten for days but we took care of that right after we left the airport. It was a special dinner to honor Will and keep me from malnutrition.

About an hour before we left to pick him up at the airport, I thought back of when we welcomed Derek back from Japan. We made a big banner for him...so I felt obligated to continue the tradition. I love my Xerox printer. It's really the only thing I have of value in this life...Oh, besides my wife and kids.

I had a few other things to do besides making banners before we went to pick Will up at the airport. We stopped at the shop and I invented a thing or two and finally after Michele's incessant honking, we headed south.

On the freeway, I got a call from one of my family that Will had landed and I better hurry. I was surprised that Michele would be frowning on the very day that her son was returning home.

I put the petal to the medal.

As we were picking up the gate ticket to get the barricade to raise, I got another call. Another family member was screaming that we better hurry as Will was inside the terminal and heading for our family group that had been waiting to see their missionary relative. Most of them had been there for hours.

I screeched the tires, we jumped out of the van before it slid to a stop and we ran into the airport like we were late for a plane.

No more than 15 seconds elapsed from the time we rushed through the dispensible family crowd, (knocking a few of them over) till Will walked through the security aisle and hugged Michele. What a auspicious arrival! I couldn't believe Michele was still frowning.

Me? I was smiling and happy as a clam as I felt my timing had been el perfecto. There was no time wasted in waiting and yet we were not late. Very few people could time an arrival that well. Maybe it's just a man thing but there isn't much in this world that can beat an arrival that precise.

(I guess a little part of my smile was related to the fact that Will was home.)

3 days later I got Michele to smile.