Air travel usually isn’t a lot of fun. Even on the smoothest flights with on-time arrivals, sitting in a cramped airplane for hours on end with no food is tiring and tedious. (I’ve never tried it, but I’m guessing that as nice as first class is – where you’re not cramped and you get fed – travelers would still rather not be spending hours on an airplane. But I could be wrong about that.) But if you’ve spent much time at an airport and looked around at all, you can usually see that an uncomfortable day of cramped seats, security lines, crying babies, and whining adults has taken its toll on most people. There aren’t a lot of people smiling.

Until they see A.J.

Greg went out of town for business and A.J. and I went to the airport last night to pick him up. We arrived early, so I sat down in a seating area near the bottom of the escalators that lead to the baggage claim area. A.J. stood and looked around for a while, then laid down at my feet. As I watched people ride down the escalator, I was amazed at the number of people who looked around, spotted A.J. – and smiled.