Burnt Orange Report

Live from Boston

By Byron LaMasters

I'm live from Boston, and I can tell it already. There's a bunch of Red Sox fans going nuts in the bar next to where I'm eating. I'm grabbing a quick bite at the Logon airport before going to my hotel to check in. I think I'll be going to a young Democrats party in Cambridge tonight, but I'll check into that when I get in to the hotel. Anyway, one of the advantages of a group blog is that I can take a few days away from writing if you feel like your in a rut - or if you know that you're about to spend the next six days blogging constantly, as is the case here. Regardless, I'm back in my blogging mood, and I wrote this in the airplane today:

You would think that DFW would be the easy part of my trip considering the security and commotion it brings about in Boston this week. Yet, I managed to have something of a minor adventure in Dallas earlier today. My Delta flight with an hour layover was overbooked, but they could book me on a direct flight to Boston on American leaving an hour and a half later. They asked me if I would be interested, and I said sure - as long as my bag gets there. I'm currently somewhere above Tennessee, and there is an open middle seat (I'm by the window), so I'm considering myself lucky so far, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed about the luggage. So, needless to say, I had some time to spare in the airport, and I made good use of it.

I'm an outgoing person by nature. I got it from my mother. She could find herself stranded on a desert island for a day with five strangers and by the end of the day she would have five new best friends. On the other hand, my father would be more than happy stranded on a desert island by himself with a remote control and a good book. I take after my mom. So, on that note, I talked to two fascinating women at the DFW airport as I awaited my flight. It troubles me that I forgot their names, but I'll surely remember the conversations.

First, was this African-American woman - probably late 20s or early 30s who was an airline security screener. I met her on the shuttle bus from terminal E - where my Delta flight was - to terminal A - where my American Flight to Boston departed. We were the only two passengers on the bus, and the driver wasn't too talkative, so I asked her - since she was in her security uniform - which exit to take for gate A10. She told me when to exit, and then after hearing that she was a security screener, I asked her why she was taking the shuttle from E to A. Why? She has to park way out near the entrance to the airport (and those of you unfamiliar with the DFW airport - it's huge). Not only that, but she has to pay $30 a month out of her own pocketbook to park there. Then she has to take one shuttle into the actual airport, then another to get to her terminal. Was she bitter about having to go to the trouble? No. She seemed to be happy with her job, and someone who was genuinely motivated to perform the important job on the front lines of national security. But does she deserve to pay $30 a month to do her job, only to take two shuttles to get there? She continued to tell me that most of the companies - the fast food joints, the news stands, the restaurants, etc. in the airport pay for close parking for their employees - so that they can park nearby to where they work. Yet, the federal government does not. That means that the guy at Au bon pan who made my chicken Caesar wrap for lunch probably has his parking paid for, yet the woman who checks to make sure that I'm not a terrorist does not. Someone needs to get with the program. If we're serious about airport security in America, we need to treat airport screeners as professionals. That means professional training, professional service, and professional pay. Treating airport screeners like professionals means not forcing them to pay $30 to park far away only to take two shuttles to do their job keeping America safe. They deserve better. Even so, the woman was friendly, and had a smile on her face. For her, it was just another day at work keeping America's airplanes safe from terror.

While I was waiting to board my airplane, I somewhat awkwardly spurred up a conversation with a young woman - I doubt she was any older than I - who was in a US Army uniform. I should force myself to do it more often. There was a young Hispanic guy - probably also about my age in front of me at the check in casual civilian clothes, but with a US Army bag. He was alone, as was I, so I thought of a way to spring up a conversation. Nothing came to me, so I just minded my own business. However, at the gate, I had just finished my chicken Caesar wrap, and I had another 15 minutes before my flight - not enough time to make it worth buying a wireless internet pass to log in and check my email, but enough time to spark a conversation. So I approached a very tired young woman in a US Army uniform, and I'm glad I did. I asked her if she was going to Boston. No, she was going on the following flight to Minnesota for two weeks of R&R. She had just come from Iraq, and had spent the last twenty hours in airports. I told her my story. I'm covering the Democratic convention in Boston for my website. And most importantly, while I opposed the war, I thanked her for her service. I'm just as proud today - the summer of 2004 - than I was in the winter and spring of last year that I opposed the war in Iraq. Having said that, its so important, especially for those of us who opposed the war in Iraq from the beginng to go out of our way to say thank you. It's so chilling to me to see people younger than myself die in Iraq. It's quite jarring. I just turned 22, and I turn the television on and see 19 year olds American kids die. It makes me feel so old. We all owe a debt of gratitude to our men and women in the armed forces, and its important on occasion to say thank you for their effort. That, more than anything is what I'll remember from today. And it made me feel good about our country and the people that fight for it. I'll remember to thank our troops more often. Not by writing about it on my blog, or praying about it at the kitchen table, or singing about it before the ballgame - but actually by going up to a service member and saying “thank you“. I'm sure they hear it all the time, but I know that serving in Iraq, having to kill another human being, seeing friends die or become disfigured - it all surely takes away part of your humanity. And it is my hope that the gratitude of millions of Americans will help restore with our troops and our veterans that sense of humanity. The conversation ended on a bright note as well. After hearing I was a Democrat, she told me her father was a Democratic State Senator in Minnesota, so she grew up in a political family. I was also envious to hear that she had met Paul Wellstone before he died - and she was quite a fan. My last question was what one thing would you like to see the U.S. government do to help the situation over in Iraq? The answer: Elect John Kerry president. Amen to that.