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[cblj_backup]

Today is Veteran's Day, and I know we have quite a few proud veterans in the Cafe, so here's a wave and a Thank You for you! You are My Tax Dollars At Work. BossBoss is a vet, as are about half the team I regularly work with and most of the admins worth knowing. It's probably a good idea to stay on a vet's good side anyway; most veterans I know are way more subversive and mischevious than the average person and have the training to make it stick. Flaming ping-pong ball guns: invented by my boss!

I am back at work today, with a thermacare patch on and doped up with naproxen. Moment of supreme awkward: "BossBoss, I can't touch my own shoulders. If I swear not to ever discuss it again, can you strap this on my back?"

I also bought Tiger Balm, and lip balm, because I NEED BALMING DAMMIT.

Other than that, the universe is quiet. (Actually it's quite noisy, but my little corner of it is quiet.)

Comments

[metallumai.livejournal.com]

I want a flaming pingpong ball gun!

[copperbadge.livejournal.com]

Alas, there was only one built, and it tended to combust unexpectedly :D

[revieloutionne.livejournal.com]

It's a flaming ping pong ball gun, how were the users not expecting combustion?

[calliope-jones.livejournal.com]

most veterans I know are way more subversive and mischevious than the average person and have the training to make it stick.

Yes, This.

[51stcenturyfox.livejournal.com]

I concur.

[thefannishwaldo.livejournal.com]

ThermaCare patches are, IMHO, proof that God loves us. :)

[firynze.livejournal.com]

Them and naproxen, definitely godsends. I LIVE on naproxen.

[copperbadge.livejournal.com]

It's soooooo gooooood omg.

[firynze.livejournal.com]

most veterans I know are way more subversive and mischevious than the average person and have the training to make it stick. Flaming ping-pong ball guns: invented by my boss!

...okay, so I'm not the only one who's noticed this? Veterans are sneaky, cheeky buggers!

[snufflesdbear.livejournal.com]

Oh, yeah. Best thing *ever* in reenacting was to get involved in a group who's Sgt Major was a Vietnam Vet. Sneaky to the 1000%.

[sunlitshadow.livejournal.com]

If I swear not to ever discuss it again, can you strap this on my back?"

If he's a vet, trust me, he's probably had far more awkward experiences while out in the field. Probably didn't even phase him. :)

[sunlitshadow.livejournal.com]

Err, faze. I haven't finished my first cup of coffee yet.

[brewsternorth.livejournal.com]

NP!

(There are far too many fanficcers who don't know the difference!)

And yes, probably true, but I'm still giving mad props to BossBoss.

[copperbadge.livejournal.com]

No, he was pretty cool about it :D

[brewsternorth.livejournal.com]

I NEED BALMING DAMMIT.

Yeah, I got myself one of the Body Shop's super-moisturizing hemp-oil lip balms recently, 'cos I know that winter is going to do a number on my lips otherwise.

Hee flaming ping-pong balls. (Sounds very "Office Space". Except that it's the boss rather than the workers who thought it up. XD)

Hope the balms and other whatsits do the trick and you heal up soon!

[myemmie.livejournal.com]

My dad was a vet. We don't get a lot of stories out of him - not that I can blame him for not wanting to share, but apparently some of what he had to do was also unshare-able for classification reasons as well. One day, though, he was in a mood, someone said something that prompted this response: "I was in military prison once...couldn't be helped though - it's not like they'd give permission for us to steal the tank."

Me: "....? You stole a tank?"

Dad: "Well, we had to, really - there was no other way we could rob the train."

I wasn't quite sure I wanted to hear the full story, so I left it at that; he seemed glad I did. :)

[copperbadge.livejournal.com]

LOL! Dude, now I want to hear the whole story!

[myemmie.livejournal.com]

Well, like I said, there's a great, gaping maw where "Dad's Army Tiem" should be; he peppers us with odd tidbits like that occasionally. I know that my brother and I were both terrified to wake him up as children, because he jumped out of sleep and was likely to lash out. (Which made me feel awful for him, more than anything, I remember...)
I do know that, a few Christmases ago, my brother in law decided to make a shadowbox for him with all of his medals, commendations, etc...he was Army himself, and knew how to request records, report lost medallions, etc (Dad has very little left himself). BIL wanted it to be a surprise, so of course told Dad nothing of the whole ordeal, that is until he started getting questionable phone calls from unlisted numbers, wanting to know who exactly BIL was, his relation to one [Dad], and whether appropriate clearances for release of documentation was in order.
BIL, of course, flipped out a bit, tried to explain that, No, Sir, he's family and I wanted to make a shadowbox for Christmas, I don't need to know details if that's ok...yes, Sir, I understand that records are not declassified for X years dependent on circumstance, this was just a simple inquiry...

BIL, for Christmas, presented Dad with a mostly empty box, some very threatening letters from the government, and one hell of a spook story. Dad just laughed and apologized...then admitted he thought that wigging my BIL out was one hell of a Christmas present, after all, so no harm done.

Our best guess? Dad was A-Team. I asked him once, actually, if he got to drive *the* van, and he just smiled...so I think we're on to something. lol

[copperbadge.livejournal.com]

LOL! Your dad, Super Sekrit Superhero!

[myemmie.livejournal.com]

A damn good dad, even if not!

[skipthedemon.livejournal.com]

My dad had a story about getting his army helicopter stuck in apple trees. He and his buddy saw an orchard, while they were on a training type thing, and decided to hover down to pick some. And then spent several tense minutes detaching themselves, hoping they didn't crash the multi-million dollar machine.

Somehow, they still let him fly super secret missions over East Germany that only got declassified a few years ago.

[rednwhiterose.livejournal.com]

This makes me wish I knew my g-pa (he died before I was born). The only interesting story that I have is that when he went to the recruitment office with some friends, somehow he gave them the wrong ID card, which said he was older then he really was, and because of that he *didn't* get shipped to the Pacific, but his friends did.

[skipthedemon.livejournal.com]

That's a great story!

If I remember the story correctly, my dad got his draft papers at his mother's house. Or rather his mother got them and called him. Dad went in to enlist before he had them 'in hand' and (since this was the 70s) before whatever system they had knew he was drafted. And that was how he ended up in flight school, instead of infantry. The class ahead of him actually went over to Vietnam. His class did not.

My dad passed away earlier this year. Today is my birthday. We had a tradition of me wishing him a Happy Veteran's Day and Thank You immediately after he wished me happy birthday. Bit of a mixed day today.

[rhi]

A good friend's dad enlisted in the army not long before Pearl Harbor, because he was out of a big Irish family and there just weren't enough jobs or food, so... Only he was a tall, skinny guy -- too skinny to meet the weight requirements by a couple pounds. The recruiting sergeant gave him a glass, pointed him to the restroom and told him to go drink all the water he could hold then come back and get weighed in. Dad G went on through World War II, went Air Force when the Air Corps split off, and did a tour in Vietnam at 52 or 54 because he thought the kids they were sending to Vietnam were too young.

He was a great guy, with amazing stories. I still miss him.

[nakki.livejournal.com]

Dude, that's awesome! Vet dad's have the best stories =) Mine's a vet and never said ANYTHING for years but ever since I started taking this class on Airplane Crashes in September (it's actually on human factors, but you couldn't tell) he's been a chatty cathy! All his stories start "I probably shouldn't tell you this, but they probably won't kill you." It's awesome!

[myemmie.livejournal.com]

They do seem to carry a particular brand of sneaky snark, don't they? I heart my train-robbin' teddy bear dad!!

[eponymousanon.livejournal.com]

Man, I hear you. My dad's stories are along the lines of "used to drink beer with Dick Marcenko" and "got chased by a hammerhead shark", all off duty stuff. Oh, or pranks pulled. My favorite: convincing a napping co-pilot that the plane was going down and everyone had parachuted out but him :D

[rednwhiterose.livejournal.com]

Tell BossBoss I'm wearing a Red Poppy for him!!! (and the various and sundry members of my family who were vets)


:O)

[nakki.livejournal.com]

The Red Poppies are my favourite part of this holiday =)

I hate the crap tissue ones they give out in the states though, so on Remembrance Day in Canada I acquire a bunch of the really nice plastic/material ones and then where them all year round.

[rednwhiterose.livejournal.com]

I had to "MacGyver" one up as I'm in the States. I wear it not only to remember but to protest the "commercialization" of the holiday in this country and also because it's a visible, subtle reminder that I care.

/soapbox

[nakki.livejournal.com]

argh yeah, I kinda hate how every holiday in America has come to mean "sell me stuff!!!" but on the other hand, I love that Americans have totally subverted all the religious holidays to be about buying and giving. It's like the highest form of respect in America: Macys having a holiday sale.

Which reminds me, I need to go find me a new winter coat.

[twirlynoodle.livejournal.com]

I have never encountered any poppies anywhere in the States, which makes me sad – where do you live?

I am currently wearing the red satin one I made after the pattern of the British one I got from a pub a few cities over, but which was made of paper and so died. Next year I will remember acquire a 'real' one via a Canadian friend or relative ...

[nakki.livejournal.com]

I used to get the paper ones when living in Henderson, NV. The vets usually stood outside of Grocery Stores selling them. Now in Boston I spend Veteran's Day studying, so I don't know if they sell them out here.

My mum's in Canada right now so I'm expecting a letter with a bunch of poppies in it in about a week =)

[grlgoddess.livejournal.com]

So that's why we had a poppy shortage this year! All you Americans taking them down south! *shakes fist* :P

[nakki.livejournal.com]

[piplover.livejournal.com]

If you think vets are sneaky, you should see the active duty. It was kind of a way of life to have to steal your stuff back, which required late night raids strategy. They called it putting our training to good use.

And to think, I was such a sweet, innocent thing when I joined. Now I can pick a lock with a hairpin!

Go Army!

[happi-feet.livejournal.com]

My mother-in-law once doubled up and used Tiger balm AS lip balm.

[copperbadge.livejournal.com]

That seems like it would HURT A LOT.

[happi-feet.livejournal.com]

Yes. Apparently her reaction was to claw frantically at her face and scream while everyone around her laughed unhelpfully. To make it worse, it wasn't the weak American market product - it was the super-strong stuff sold in Bahrain.

[eandh99.livejournal.com]

I still find it baffling that the US downplays Remembrance Day so much - I'm in Canada, where we have the excellent waterproof poppies, and everyone wears one. Today's cenotaph service, in the cold and pouring rain, attracted hundreds of people in a small town, who stood outside in the rain for an hour through speeches, singing, wreath-laying and a parade. Local groups from Guides and Scouts through the Coast Guard and the fire department are in the parade. It's a stat holiday here.

Prescription-strength naproxen FTW, though, Sam, I'm with you on that.

[copperbadge.livejournal.com]

I could offer a lot of theories as to why Veteran's Day is such a lack-of-big-deal in this country, but they'd all be unresearched. I do think the poppies thing is probably because In Flanders Fields was a distinctly Commonwealth poem -- written by a Canadian with strong Scots roots, etc. The poem never became famous here the way it did in Canada and the UK.

[laurick.livejournal.com]

'Moment of supreme awkward: "BossBoss, I can't touch my own shoulders. If I swear not to ever discuss it again, can you strap this on my back?"'

MY boss said the exact same thing to me today! Only our conversation went more along the lines of, "Hey Employee, since you were out sick yesterday, can you strap this on me today?" Weird mirrorverse we got here, sir.

[wellowned.livejournal.com]

i can see that all the vets-as-Loki tends to be true. i had the (mis)fortune to... poly-date(?) one guy who is still called up to do training and what i figure is mercenary work. his trickster nature tended to out itself more as cruelty than fun to me and the other guy involved.

but.... jeez, he was fun. he still hits me up from time to time if he needs his ego stroked. i feel like i should thank him for his service, but then make him suffer.


but, then again, i've got some awesome vets in my life (a former boss who still has good words for me, fore one). so i have no complaints.