Guidons, Guidons, Guidons!: A Lunchtime Encounter

I got off work the other day just around lunchtime, so before I went to my home I decided to have a little something to eat. I live a few miles from post so the fact that I was in uniform at the restaurant was a little out of the ordinary but not too unusual.

So there I was, minding my own business, enjoying my Schlotzskys, when over my shoulder I hear, "Do you fly helicopters?" I turn around and see an older gentleman sitting a few tables behind me, who begins to regale me with stories of his former soldier son, who didn't know that he could have flown helicopters in the Army and then got out and spent tons of money learning to fly, the school wen tout of business after 9/11 and so on. To be honest after a while it made me start looking around trying to find a way out without being rude. And now that I think of it, especially given that I was in the middle of my meal, wasn't he the one being rude to me...my sandwich growing increasing cold as he and then his wife double teamed me with info I didn't need or particularly care about. Then came the coup de grace, "I know you aren't allowed to comment, but we had no business going into Iraq."

Then I said, "Well as a matter of fact, I just spent 15 months in Iraq and it's not quite as bad as you might think."

They then said, "Did you know there aren't any Christians in Iraq anymore? They've all been run out...they were much better off with Sadam in charge." and on and on.

To be honest it really upset me after a fashion, that this couple would sit there and lecture me about how Iraq is especially after I told them I just got back from there...well, I guess as someone once told me, "Flying over Iraq every day doesn't give you some kind of unique insight as to what is going on there." How can you agrue with logic like that?

Yeah, they don't need us or want us there...