In order to participate in the GunBroker Member forums, you must be logged in with your GunBroker.com account. Click the sign-in button at the top right of the forums page to get connected.
"RIGHT TO THE POINT !"
Jungle Jim
Member Posts: 264 ✭
A friend sent me this :
RIGHT TO THE POINT!
It could have been any night of the week, as I sat in one of those loud and casual steak houses that are cropping up all over the country. You know the type -- a bucket of peanuts on the table, shells littering the floor, and a bunch of perky college kids racing around with longneck beers and sizzling platters.Taking a sip of my iced tea, I studied the crowd over the rim of my glass. I let my gaze linger on a few of the tables next to me, where several uniformed military members were enjoying their meals. Smiling sadly, I glanced across my booth to the empty seat where my husband usually sat. Had it had only been a few weeks since we had sat at this very table talking about his upcoming deployment to the Middle East? He made me promise to come back to this restaurant once a month, sit in our booth, and treat myself to a nice dinner. He told me that he would treasure the thought of me there eating a steak and thinking about him until he came home. I fingered the little flag pin I wear on my jacket and wondered where at that moment he was. Was he safe and warm? Was his cold any better? Were any of my letters getting to him?
As I pondered all of these things, shrill feminine voices from the next booth broke into my thoughts. "I don't know what Bush is thinking invading Iraq. Didn't he learn anything from his father's mistakes? He is an idiot anyway, I can't believe he is even in office. You know he stole the election."
I cut into my steak and tried not to listen as they began an endless tirade of running down our president. I thought about the last night I was with my husband as he prepared to deploy. He had just returned from getting his smallpox and anthrax shots and the image of him standing in our kitchen packing his gas mask still gave me chills.
Once again their voices invaded my thoughts. "It is all about oil, you know. Our military will go in and rape and pillage and steal all the oil they can in the name of freedom. I wonder how many innocent lives our soldiers will take without a thought? It is just pure greed.
My chest tightened and I stared at my wedding ring. I could picture how handsome my husband was in his mess dress the day he slipped it on my finger. I wondered what he was wearing at that moment. He probably had on his desert uniform, affectionately dubbed coffee stains, over the top of which he wore a heavy bulletproof vest.
The women kept talking. "We should just leave Iraq alone. I don't think they are hiding any weapons. I think it is all a ploy to increase the president's popularity and pad the budget of our military at the expense of social security and education. We are just asking for another 9-11 and I can't say when it happens again that we didn't deserve it." Their words brought to mind the war protesters I had watched gathering outside our base. Did no one appreciate the sacrifice of brave men and women who leave their homes and family to ensure our freedom? I glimpsed at the tables around me and saw the faces of some of those courageous men, looking sad as they listened to the ladies talk.
"Well, I for one, think it is a travesty to invade Iraq and I am certainly sick of our tax dollars going to train the professional baby killers we call a military." Professional baby killers? As I thought about what a wonderful father my husband is and wondered how long it would be before he was able to see his children again, indignation rose up within me. Normally reserved, pride in my husband gave me a boldness I had never known. Tonight, one voice would cry out on behalf of the military. One shy woman would stand and let her pride in our troops be known.
I made my way to their table, placed my palms flat on it and lowered myself to be eye level with them. Smiling I said, "I couldn't help overhearing your conversation. I am sitting over here trying to enjoy my dinner alone. Do you know why I am alone? Because my husband, whom I love dearly, is halfway across the world defending your right to say rotten things about him. You have the right to your opinion, and what you think is none of my business, but what you say in my hearing is and I will not sit by and listen to you run down my country, my president, my husband, and all these other fine men and women in here who put their lives on the line to give you the freedom to complain. Freedom is expensive ladies. Don't let your actions cheapen it." I must have been louder than I meant to be, because about that time the manager came over and asked if everything was all right. "Yes, thank you." I replied and then turned back to the ladies, "Enjoy the rest of your meal."
To my surprise, as I sat down to finish my steak, a round of applause broke out in the restaurant. Not long after the ladies picked up their check and scurried away, the manager brought me a huge helping of apple cobbler and ice cream, compliments of the table to my left. He told me that the ladies had tried to pay for my dinner, but someone had beaten them to it. When I asked who, he said the couple had already left, but that the man had mentioned he was a WWII vet and wanted to take care of the wife of one of our boys. I turned to thank the soldiers for the cobbler, but they wouldn't hear a word of it, replying, "Thank you, you said what we wanted to say but weren't allowed."
As I drove home that night, for the first time in quite a while, I didn't feel quite so alone. My heart was filled with the warmth of all the patrons who had stopped by my table to tell me they too were
proud of my husband and that he would be in their prayers. I knew their flags would fly a little higher the next day. Perhaps they would look for tangible ways to show their pride in our country and our troops, and maybe, just maybe, the two ladies sitting at that table next to me would pause for a minute to appreciate all the freedom this great country offers and what it costs to maintain.
As for me, I had learned that one voice can make a difference. Maybe the next time protesters gather outside the gates of the base where I live, I will proudly stand across the street with a sign of my own. A sign that says "Thank you!"
Lori Kimble is a 31 year old teacher and proud military wife. She is a California native currently living in Alabama
"De Oppresso Liber"
RIGHT TO THE POINT!
It could have been any night of the week, as I sat in one of those loud and casual steak houses that are cropping up all over the country. You know the type -- a bucket of peanuts on the table, shells littering the floor, and a bunch of perky college kids racing around with longneck beers and sizzling platters.Taking a sip of my iced tea, I studied the crowd over the rim of my glass. I let my gaze linger on a few of the tables next to me, where several uniformed military members were enjoying their meals. Smiling sadly, I glanced across my booth to the empty seat where my husband usually sat. Had it had only been a few weeks since we had sat at this very table talking about his upcoming deployment to the Middle East? He made me promise to come back to this restaurant once a month, sit in our booth, and treat myself to a nice dinner. He told me that he would treasure the thought of me there eating a steak and thinking about him until he came home. I fingered the little flag pin I wear on my jacket and wondered where at that moment he was. Was he safe and warm? Was his cold any better? Were any of my letters getting to him?
As I pondered all of these things, shrill feminine voices from the next booth broke into my thoughts. "I don't know what Bush is thinking invading Iraq. Didn't he learn anything from his father's mistakes? He is an idiot anyway, I can't believe he is even in office. You know he stole the election."
I cut into my steak and tried not to listen as they began an endless tirade of running down our president. I thought about the last night I was with my husband as he prepared to deploy. He had just returned from getting his smallpox and anthrax shots and the image of him standing in our kitchen packing his gas mask still gave me chills.
Once again their voices invaded my thoughts. "It is all about oil, you know. Our military will go in and rape and pillage and steal all the oil they can in the name of freedom. I wonder how many innocent lives our soldiers will take without a thought? It is just pure greed.
My chest tightened and I stared at my wedding ring. I could picture how handsome my husband was in his mess dress the day he slipped it on my finger. I wondered what he was wearing at that moment. He probably had on his desert uniform, affectionately dubbed coffee stains, over the top of which he wore a heavy bulletproof vest.
The women kept talking. "We should just leave Iraq alone. I don't think they are hiding any weapons. I think it is all a ploy to increase the president's popularity and pad the budget of our military at the expense of social security and education. We are just asking for another 9-11 and I can't say when it happens again that we didn't deserve it." Their words brought to mind the war protesters I had watched gathering outside our base. Did no one appreciate the sacrifice of brave men and women who leave their homes and family to ensure our freedom? I glimpsed at the tables around me and saw the faces of some of those courageous men, looking sad as they listened to the ladies talk.
"Well, I for one, think it is a travesty to invade Iraq and I am certainly sick of our tax dollars going to train the professional baby killers we call a military." Professional baby killers? As I thought about what a wonderful father my husband is and wondered how long it would be before he was able to see his children again, indignation rose up within me. Normally reserved, pride in my husband gave me a boldness I had never known. Tonight, one voice would cry out on behalf of the military. One shy woman would stand and let her pride in our troops be known.
I made my way to their table, placed my palms flat on it and lowered myself to be eye level with them. Smiling I said, "I couldn't help overhearing your conversation. I am sitting over here trying to enjoy my dinner alone. Do you know why I am alone? Because my husband, whom I love dearly, is halfway across the world defending your right to say rotten things about him. You have the right to your opinion, and what you think is none of my business, but what you say in my hearing is and I will not sit by and listen to you run down my country, my president, my husband, and all these other fine men and women in here who put their lives on the line to give you the freedom to complain. Freedom is expensive ladies. Don't let your actions cheapen it." I must have been louder than I meant to be, because about that time the manager came over and asked if everything was all right. "Yes, thank you." I replied and then turned back to the ladies, "Enjoy the rest of your meal."
To my surprise, as I sat down to finish my steak, a round of applause broke out in the restaurant. Not long after the ladies picked up their check and scurried away, the manager brought me a huge helping of apple cobbler and ice cream, compliments of the table to my left. He told me that the ladies had tried to pay for my dinner, but someone had beaten them to it. When I asked who, he said the couple had already left, but that the man had mentioned he was a WWII vet and wanted to take care of the wife of one of our boys. I turned to thank the soldiers for the cobbler, but they wouldn't hear a word of it, replying, "Thank you, you said what we wanted to say but weren't allowed."
As I drove home that night, for the first time in quite a while, I didn't feel quite so alone. My heart was filled with the warmth of all the patrons who had stopped by my table to tell me they too were
proud of my husband and that he would be in their prayers. I knew their flags would fly a little higher the next day. Perhaps they would look for tangible ways to show their pride in our country and our troops, and maybe, just maybe, the two ladies sitting at that table next to me would pause for a minute to appreciate all the freedom this great country offers and what it costs to maintain.
As for me, I had learned that one voice can make a difference. Maybe the next time protesters gather outside the gates of the base where I live, I will proudly stand across the street with a sign of my own. A sign that says "Thank you!"
Lori Kimble is a 31 year old teacher and proud military wife. She is a California native currently living in Alabama
"De Oppresso Liber"
Comments
Yeah, yeah, I know... JMHO.
NSDQ!
"Nobody dislikes war more than warriors, but we value the causes of peace so highly that we will not duck a war in an effort to get a lasting peace." -General Daniel "Chappie" James
SEMPER FI
If you have one shot...Accu-Shot Website
SSgt Ryan E. Roberts, USMC
Very nice thanks for sharing it.
Get the job done and come home safe guys.
I rush in where others flee.
Did you stop to consider that the comments just might be right and she is merely emotionally reacting to the danger her husband faces? To oppose an unwarranted invasion of a country that did nothing to harm our great nation is not running down the country nor the president.
Her husband "takes the Queen's Gold" so he does what he's told (don't flame me, I'm a retired NCO drawing VA disability from 'Nam) and I did the same thing. It is appropriate that she support him but support does not require one to stop thinking. Which country shall we invade next? Syria and Iran come to mind, don't they? [}:)]
It's not what you know that gets you in trouble, it's what you know that just ain't so!
Resident Pyrrhonist
All of what you said is an opinion, which just like the women in the restaurant, you are surely entitled to. The difference? You are in a forum which encourages opinion and discussion. If I was paying for a dinner in a restaurant I would not want to sit and listen to the ramblings of someone who thinks so contrary to my own way of thinking. These ladies were in the wrong, and the woman that corrected them was right, in my opinion, and had I been there, I'd have been sorely pressed to not tell the women to shut up in a not so proper manner as she did. I am sure she was not the only one unhappy listening to their conversation. I'll assume she was eating in a restaurant which was largely visited by military members, making these women's conversation even more inappropriate, kind of like me talking about my disliking of anti gun people in the middle of a pro gun control rally.
SSgt Ryan E. Roberts, USMC
[^][^][^][^][^][^][^][^][^][^][^][^]
ATF
Measure twice, cut once.
Empty the clip!
Doesn't social politeness involve not only not eavesdropping and then joining their discussion? There is such a thing as "class" and this woman obviously doesn't have it.
The woman was wrong; sorry, Robs, but we agree to disagree. [;)]
It's not what you know that gets you in trouble, it's what you know that just ain't so!
Resident Pyrrhonist
Arielle
"I love myself and so should you!"
Yeah, we'll have to agree to disagree, since I believe that while eating the main thing that should be accomplished by ones mouth is eating, while the mouth is shut, not talking. Also, when you go and pay for food at a restaurant, you're paying for the food and service, you're not paying for a speaking platform, or to ruin someone elses dinner. If they were done eating, or even if they wernt done really makes no difference I suppose. Conversations held in an environment such as that one, loud enough for all to hear, are not private, and you leave yourself open to criticism for the things you say. Its no different than someone walking into the restaurant and announcing that they hate all veterans that fought during the VN conflict, then not expecting someone to get up and confront them, I would. Its just a politeness thing. If you're gonna run something down, be prepared for the consequences if you do it in public, or dont do it.
I can see where you are coming from, but like you said, we'll just agree to disagree.[8D]
SSgt Ryan E. Roberts, USMC
It's not what you know that gets you in trouble, it's what you know that just ain't so!
Resident Pyrrhonist
Rosie the damn proud patroit
Nice story though, Jim.
Clouder..
Arielle
"I love myself and so should you!"
________________
Heston for prez.
Big Daddy my heros have always been cowboys,they still are it seems