Airport Follies

The tires on the big black car barely had time to cool down last week. On Friday, Mr. and Mrs. Hall happily attended the ceremony for their friend (and attorney) Joseph E. Lamendola, on the occasion of his elevation from Lt. Colonel to Full Bird at the Heritage Club, located at Hancock Airport. Nearly fifty people, both friends and clients of Mr. Lamendola, cheered him on as he received the Meritorious Service Award and his fresh new pair of eagle embroidered epaulettes, presented to him by the current and previous Commanders of the 174th Fighter Wing. Cocktails and a dinner buffet tempted afterwards, but Mr. and Mrs. H. were off to the other end of the airport. Master Christopher’s plane was just touching down as they strolled up to the gate and checked the arrivals. All dressed in his blues and looking as sharp as a new penny, Chris strode down the walkway and was nearly tackled by Mrs. H. “And I said wasn’t going to cry.” she sniffed. Being in the military confers certain flying privileges, and one of them was free passage for all of Chris’ luggage. Mindful of this, Master Christopher proceeded to pack and ship approximately half of the city of Biloxi, MS. Moments later, a much lower and heavily laden black Cadillac was seen streaming down the highway, making a beeline for Daniel’s Grill and some very welcome Manhattans. Daniel himself came out of the kitchen and congratulated the serviceman, and after some hearty handshakes (and a delightful dinner), presented the happy party with a complimentary assortment of desserts. It was a dream come true for Master Christopher, whose only wish on his return was to finally have some good cooking again!