Kevin

The conference was ok. The post-conference activities were far superior, but then you'd expect that on the beach in Florida, wouldn't you? But this post isn't about the conference, it's about Kevin.

My 10-hr odyssey home took me from Tampa Airport to Kansas City to Sacramento. We got to KC 25 minutes early--talk about shaking your booty!--but unfortunately my connecting flight to Sacramento was delayed. The gate crew at KC kept us well informed of the ETA of the aircraft, but I could tell some people were getting a little antsy.

The plane finally arrived and after the new arrivals exited--"deplaned", in the parlance of aviation industry--it was time for us to start boarding. First called for preboarding were those with blue holders, the unaccompanied minors. Kevin was the only one, and he started walking towards the gate; no doubt he was looking forward to seeing mom in Sacramento. Anyway, after he took a few steps towards the gate his dad called out, "Kevin, come give me a hug!" Kevin turned around and went back to hug dad while everyone in the boarding area waited.

Kevin headed back towards the gate. Then his teenage brother called out, "Kevin, what about me?" Kevin rushed back to hug his brother. The gate area erupted, not anger or with "awwwwww" but with "yay!" and cheers.

A teenage boy not afraid to voice such affection for his younger brother. It choked me up.