Dear TSA,
You think your job is to check bags, but what you really do is far more intrusive. You block goodbyes…well, you cause premature goodbyes.
The proper way to send off a loved one at the airport was to hug (and kiss) at the gate where the plane is waiting. And then we’d hang back, watching them take a seat, looking out the window as the plane prepares to take off. We’d wave at them through the glass, and they’d wave back – an unspoken promise that no distance could ever erase that connection. It wasn’t just a ritual – it was an act of love, a moment of good luck sent into the air.
And when someone was flying in from out of town, the first thing we’d do was meet them at the gate. No sterile baggage claim, no waiting for the carousel. We’d be there, jumping and waving as they stepped off the plane, greeting them before they even retrieved their luggage. We were the first people they’d see, and they’d talk to us before even hearing the loud hum of the terminal. Priorities, right?
But now, the airport terminal has lost that aura. The aura of hellos and goodbyes, of lovers procrastinating their departure as long as possible – holding onto each other all the way to the doors of the plane. Of families welcoming the return of a member, the rush of joy in their arms as they step through the gate. It was an aura of reunion, of reconciliation.
The airport was a place that felt like home and yet not, all at once. Now, it’s just not the same. It’s missing the magic. Not the travelers themselves, but the support – the connections that were made without wings.
The terminal wasn’t just a quiet place of misplacement; it was where love made noise – sobs of separation, cries of reunion. It was raw and real.
Rest in peace, Gate-Goodbyes and Hellos. Thank you for the most beautiful tears we have ever shed.
In loving memory,
~ The Radical Left
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When was the last time you said goodbye or welcomed someone at the gate? What did it feel like? Drop your story in the comments.