welcome to america

so there i was sitting in the airport today on my way to go sing in virginia. and i saw a fairly awkward and funny exchange between two strangers and i wanted to share it with you, my faithful blog readers. hopefully there's more of you out there than just my parents. 

while i was seated and sipping on a latte, i was people watching. what else does one do in an airport but people watch? it's one of my favorite past times. especially when people trip and try to play it off. i love the "play it off" techniques. my favorite being the look-back-and-act-like-you-tripped-on-something move. classic. 

anyway, so there i was people watching as usual and i became fixated on a man who was apparently meeting a woman for the first time at the gate before boarding. he was talking very loudly and slow. i was instantly confused so i had to keep listening to their exchange. so he keeps talking loud and slow in very concise clear-cut english. she appeared to be of Latino descent. so this really old white guy is talking very slow to this young woman. 

his first words to her were "welcome     to     america" in a slow southern twange. he seemednice enough so i kept listening, wondering what the woman's answer would be. was she here from another country? why was he talking to her like this? who are these people? it sparked my curiosity. 

she replied, "i live in dallas, but thanks anyway."

ouch. i saw the poor guy stick his foot in his mouth and then some. she was (as she should be) annoyed at his comment. then i realized, whoa, this guy didn't know this woman at all. he welcomed a complete stranger to america and the woman had lived in dallas her whole life. 

classic awkward moments between strangers that i love to be a part of, even if it is from the sidelines. i felt bad for him and her all at the same time. but i also wanted to tell the guy, "bro... just cuz she doesn't look like you, doesn't mean she's from a foreign country."

my political take-away here: love everybody. be welcoming to everybody and try not to judge based on appearances. and please, for God's sake, don't meet somewhere who looks different than you in the airport and say "welcome to america." i appreciated the guy's heart and intention, but his follow-thru was definitely lacking.