Let's say I'm on the road for some particular reason. There are decent odds that this trip will be for work, so that means that I'll likely be myself. In those cases, I try to pick up a little souvenir or something for the Mild Wife, largely to try to do something nice. It doesn't have to be something huge or extravagant, but just a little something that shows her I was thinking of her.
Lately, that item has been coffee. It's actually been a lot of fun, for a couple of reasons. For one, we like coffee, and having different types of coffee is a nice treat. For another, we both appreciate the fact that it's something of an uncommon souvenir. There are more traditional gifts, like keychains and t-shirts, but we have a bit more fun with the coffee. Heck, it's also possible to get at a plain old grocery store, which also means I can see a bit more of the local life. Like I said, it makes things a bit more fun.
The last time I did this, however, led to quite the interesting exchange. I was in an airport shop, browsing through the selection for a bit. I actually found a few that caught my attention, so it took me a while to decide on what I wanted. In the end, I selected something from one of the farther corners of the shop, and then meandered to the front to pay.
I noticed that there were a few employees standing around near the till, but there was nobody behind the desk. I threw out a quick, "excuse me?" to ask if one of them could help me, but apparently the manager also saw this predicament. She did it for me, chiding the employees with something along the lines of, "there's a customer trying to pay behind you, and none of you are helping him." I felt bad for getting them in trouble, but I'd just walked up to pay.
One of them quickly slid behind the register to take care of my transaction. I don't know if it was because she'd gotten grief a moment before or what, but she was extra nice. We chatted for a few seconds, when she asked me a question that I've heard many a time before: "are you in the military?"
Well, no, I'm not. As I've written about before, the question doesn't offend my sensibilities, but I do always find it intriguing, and a little bit amusing. What is it that makes strangers think this about me? Clearly, there's something. It's happened too many times for it to be a coincidence, and it's happened in random places with random people. There's something.
I replied with my usual, "no, I'm not" and a short laugh. The response, though, was what really made my day: "then why do you look like you are?" I had no real answer for this. I promise you, I was dressed in regular clothes, just jeans a sweatshirt. I had on sneakers, and was carrying my duffel bag with travel clothes. It's a plain black bag, and looks nothing like those tan or green knapsacks that I occasionally see soldiers carrying. Whatever she saw, I didn't quite understand it.
Either way, I can add another encounter to the list. I'm still unsure of what makes folks think this about me, and it still makes me chuckle. However, in true smart-aleck form, I've decided that the takeaway from all of this is that, apparently, buying coffee makes you look like you're in the military.
Lately, that item has been coffee. It's actually been a lot of fun, for a couple of reasons. For one, we like coffee, and having different types of coffee is a nice treat. For another, we both appreciate the fact that it's something of an uncommon souvenir. There are more traditional gifts, like keychains and t-shirts, but we have a bit more fun with the coffee. Heck, it's also possible to get at a plain old grocery store, which also means I can see a bit more of the local life. Like I said, it makes things a bit more fun.
The last time I did this, however, led to quite the interesting exchange. I was in an airport shop, browsing through the selection for a bit. I actually found a few that caught my attention, so it took me a while to decide on what I wanted. In the end, I selected something from one of the farther corners of the shop, and then meandered to the front to pay.
I noticed that there were a few employees standing around near the till, but there was nobody behind the desk. I threw out a quick, "excuse me?" to ask if one of them could help me, but apparently the manager also saw this predicament. She did it for me, chiding the employees with something along the lines of, "there's a customer trying to pay behind you, and none of you are helping him." I felt bad for getting them in trouble, but I'd just walked up to pay.
One of them quickly slid behind the register to take care of my transaction. I don't know if it was because she'd gotten grief a moment before or what, but she was extra nice. We chatted for a few seconds, when she asked me a question that I've heard many a time before: "are you in the military?"
Well, no, I'm not. As I've written about before, the question doesn't offend my sensibilities, but I do always find it intriguing, and a little bit amusing. What is it that makes strangers think this about me? Clearly, there's something. It's happened too many times for it to be a coincidence, and it's happened in random places with random people. There's something.
I replied with my usual, "no, I'm not" and a short laugh. The response, though, was what really made my day: "then why do you look like you are?" I had no real answer for this. I promise you, I was dressed in regular clothes, just jeans a sweatshirt. I had on sneakers, and was carrying my duffel bag with travel clothes. It's a plain black bag, and looks nothing like those tan or green knapsacks that I occasionally see soldiers carrying. Whatever she saw, I didn't quite understand it.
Either way, I can add another encounter to the list. I'm still unsure of what makes folks think this about me, and it still makes me chuckle. However, in true smart-aleck form, I've decided that the takeaway from all of this is that, apparently, buying coffee makes you look like you're in the military.
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