The Two Faces of Life

I was stationed in Germany. It was a bad summer, very hot. And we got
the orders to....no,no, don't get me wrong, this is not the beginning of
a World War II spy story..lol.

I was 'stationed' as in I was working in Germany and I and my colleague
were asked to pick up another colleague who was coming from India. So we
went to the Frankfurt Airport, walked about a couple of miles to find
the right terminal and then waited...

It was a long wait and I got interested in the human drama going on all
around me. Every few minutes some plane unloaded and people came walking
through the door pushing the luggage trolley, looking around for a
familiar face. Most people had someone to receive them and the meetings
were really interesting to watch. They were always happy, always
excited, sometimes teary and definitely noisy. A grandma came out and
was greeted by excited, jumping grandkids. Kissing round all around.
Boyfriends receiving girlfriends, wives welcoming husbands, the hugs,
the kisses. You could really read the emotion behind the hug like
rediscovering something wonderful, a fresh, overwhelming re-start of a
beautiful relationship.

Cut to 2007. The place: Heathrow Airport, London. Terminal: Departure.
I had some time to kill before my boarding call and since there was no
proper place to sit I was again busy watching the human drama. This was
the other side of the picture. I saw a guy kiss his girl, (I wasn't
staring, silly. I was just passing by!) and then kissed her again, and
then one more time...I knew exactly what was going on in his mind. He
knew that every kiss was their last and yet, he didn't want to let go
until the last possible moment. Been there. I think we have all been
there!

Here too, there were tears all around, but accompanied by sad faces not
smiles. Pensive silences rather than joyful excited cheers.

The funny thing is no matter how much we hate the 'departure' thing,
without it we will not enjoy the 'arrival' thing.

A small joke to explain the same two-faced side of life:

Husband and wife on railway platform.
Wife: Listen, why are you so dry and boring, look at that couple, he is
hugging her and kissing her and talking all sweet and nice. And all you
can talk about is suitcases and my ticket.

Husband replied in a gruff voice: Well, if figures, he has come to see
her off, I have come to pick you up!

:-)