Travis airman surprises family with early return from Afghanistan
FAIRFIELD — A Christmas show in downtown Fairfield turned into a surprise family reunion Tuesday night for a Travis Air Force Base airman and his family.
Call it a double switch.
While Staff Sgt. Brett Randall was conspiring with his wife, Jennifer, to surprise her pastor, the Rev. Steve Kiefer of First Community Church in Suisun City, the good pastor was conspiring with the staff sergeant to surprise the airman’s wife and 4-year-old daughter, Stephanie.
The scheme saw the staff sergeant playing a leading role in Danc-Sing Star Studio’s Christmas Showcase 2011 at the Fairfield Center for Creative Arts.
After six and a half months stationed oversees at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, Randall was back in Fairfield — four days earlier than he was expected.
The surprise reunion, only a couple of days in the making, came off as if it was scripted.
The show began precisely at 6:30 p.m.
Randall, 26, was ushered into the control room at the back of the theater, where he waited in the dark through the opening numbers of the Christmas performance, stealing glances through the control room window to locate his wife.
He waited there, taking time to explain the details of the conspiracy.
As he did so, Randall shared two predictions.
First: His wife might kill him.
Second: “My daughter’s going to crawl up my leg.”
As he waited for his daughter’s number to begin — fifth on the program, a dance number called “Here Comes Santa” — the staff sergeant described his feelings as he held out his right hand, palm downward: “Steady but jittery,” he said first of his hand, then of his emotional state. “It’s been a wild ride.”
Then it was showtime. Randall came out of the control booth and made his way to the stairs that would soon lead him to the stage and his daughter. The house lights came up as he walked onto the stage.
The staff sergeant’s predictions were not far from the mark. His daughter initially did not recognize her father, who was armed with a bouquet of roses and a teddy bear. (“We live on base, so she always sees people in uniform,” he later said. “It kind of desensitizes you.”) As Randall approached, Stephanie recognized his face, shouted “Daddy” and rushed toward him.
Randall went to his knees and swept his daughter into a hug. As he rose, Stephanie, who Randall described earlier as “my little fidget midget,” clung to his leg as he searched for his wife in the audience.
He soon saw her, “a streak of lightning running up to the stage.”
They hugged.
They kissed.
Members of the audience, recognizing the significance of what was taking place, came to their feet and broke into cheers and applause.
The show’s director, Carol Warren — herself in on the scheme — gave Randall the mic and he shared some of the details with the audience; how Kiefer picked him up late in the afternoon at the Sacramento airport, how he sent a text message to his wife shortly before 6 p.m., letting her know he had arrived in Baltimore but that his cross-country travel was delayed.
Randall and his family then left the stage. The show resumed. So did the reunion.
Jennifer, 27, didn’t kill her husband. She did hit him — playfully and on the shoulder — shortly thereafter as the family gathered in the lobby for interviews.
“I can’t believe you did that,” she said. “It’s fantastic,” she said moments later. “I wanted him home for Christmas.”
Randall described his feelings as he approached the stage — “I was a little nervous walking up there, but I put my game face on” — and then as his daughter recognized him — “It lit me up inside. It felt like magic. Pure energy.”
And then, about 30 minutes after the performance began, the Randall family walked back into the theater to enjoy the rest of the show and to begin their Christmas season together.
Reach Glen Faison at 427-6925 or gfaison@dailyrepublic.net.
Short URL: http://www.dailyrepublic.com/?p=119281
Posted by Glen Faison
on Dec 20 2011.
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Feel Good Story of the year. Thanks for sharing!!