THIS IS WHAT I SAY

Nowadays when I'm on the phone dealing with the latest soul-less bureaucrat or whomever, and my military service becomes apparent and they go "Oh thank you for your service . . ."

. . . well its a nice thing to say and I'm not ungrateful or anything, but what do you say? I wasn't a hero or anything so what do you say to a thing like that??? I appreciate the sentiment, it means a LOT it really does, 'coz there was an occasion I actually overheard this bitch in a Lesbian bar in Key West utter the shameless "babykiller" line and glance in my general direction . . .

The problem is the minute they blurt out "Thank you for your service . . ." there's suddenly this moment, this pause, where it's like they're envisioning me storming the beaches at Normandy or something.

Well I've met the men who stormed those beaches, and jumped into Ste Mere Eglise, and I'm not one of them. So I came up with something defuses the situation, that doesn't make it sound like they're talking to Rambo or Sergeant Rock:

"Hell, it was better than working for a living."

When you think about it, that's the God's Honest Truth.

STORMBRINGER SENDS