Happy Veterans Day.

I spend a lot of time looking at couples’ left hands, trying to figure out if they’re married/engaged or not. Occupational hazard. At any rate, my husband and I ended up having dinner at a donut shop last night (that’s another story), when a soldier dressed in fatigues and his girlfriend walked in and sat down directly across from us. My thought process went exactly like this: “Huh, I wonder if they’re married, wait, she’s wearing a ring but I don’ think it’s a wedding/engagement ring, and he’s not wearing a ring…I wonder what branch of the military he’s in (everybody wears fatigues, and they’re the same kind, or at least close enough that I can’t generally tell), no can’t tell from the jacket he just took off…” Long story short – I was staring at them. Not really noticing I was staring at them, until the soldier looked at me and said, “Is the uniform making you uncomfortable, ma’am?”

“Uh, no, sorry. I didn’t mean to stare. Are some people uncomfortable with the uniform?
“Yeah, I’ve been threatened with a gun twice since I’ve been back.”
My jaw dropped open. Seriously? I mean, I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised, people can be idiots, but, like, the war isn’t his fault. I’m not a fan of this war, but I’m a fan of the military, because they’re necessary – someone has to do it, for one, and if they want to make a living by serving their country, more power to them.Some of the coolest people I’ve known were in the military, and I’ve been asked if I support the troops and I usually reply that I support them so much that I want every one of them to come back alive. And I’m glad that the guy in the donut shop did.

And no, I didn’t tell him why I was staring. I figured he was under enough pressure as it was.