Fly me

Bright and early, I left the house this morning. 5:15 a.m. to be exact. I stopped and grabbed a buttermilk donut (nothing is more fun than hearing the Chinese gal there try to say buttermilk to confirm my order). But, I digress.

Arrived about 5:50 a.m. to find our new international terminal springing to life in ways I've never seen since I've been on the project. It was exciting and a bit sad at the same time. My project is winding down from here on out and I'm happy and sad at the same time. This was exciting and historic to be a part of.

We had many international entertainers performing and lots of welcomes for our inaugural day passengers. We even got to be there for a R&R flight from Iraq.

We started out with an early morning arrival around 7 a.m. of Mexicana Airlines. I didn't get to see it arrive, but was there to assist media with getting in and out of the terminal. While waiting for passengers to arrive, we had mariachis, shaolin dragon performers and just a flavor of the world. I couldn't figure out what country these guys represented and asked one of the DFW cops and he said: Never Been Laid Land. *giggling* Actually, it was Bolivia.

Yes, those are capri-style pants, flip flops, man purses and colorful stocking cap thingees. Yowsah.
Below is the Channel 11 folks doing one of their shots for their package. I escorted Channel 11, WB 33 and the Dallas Morning News photographer. I also worked with Samsung, too.

I did get the unique privilege of witnessing the Shower of Affection for Korean Air's first arrival. It is really neat to see. The fire department's color guard is there and two big fire trucks spray water on the plane. Pretty neat aside from sweating like a whore in church (AoD's colorful euphemism).

The third flight to arrive was an R&R flight from Iraq. Seemed like a clown car of soldiers. They just kept coming and coming. The USO and local volunteers did a great job of welcoming them "home." My friend, CL, who works in public affairs for the airport volunteered to help my "One woman USO." So, we figured we'd be twice as nice and give R&R a whole new meaning. I'll be one R and she'll be the other. However, rest and relaxation aren't the Rs we were thinking of.

Lots of red, white and blue and signs like the one below. What can I say? We're in Texas. Probably more than one Bubba on the flight.

A few teary homecomings were witnessed. I was very proud to see the awesome welcome these men and women received from strangers, too. The soldiers were often overcome and embarrassed by the fuss, but they really are wonderful. So are their families who sacrifice so much, too. Now, on a lighter note, I figure Army of Dad is getting up there in years, 29 now. So, I considered auditions for the next Mr. AoM. They were lining up. (just kidding, they were waiting for their bus!) But, a girl can dream, can't she?

It was a long day and my legs and feet are killing me, but I figure these guys have it WAY worse, so I'll try not to whine. But, day one is behind us now. *whew*