I met up with a fellow in the 'check out' line noon Thurs-- at the Upscale Mart near my house; my goal being to buy French Onion soup for the pot roast I was preparing for dinner; I noticed on his faded red power tie he had an unpolished Marine Corps tie clasp and a bad knot; and, I could help but inquire of him if I was seeing true, was that a Maine Corps tie bar? At the same moment, I also noticed that he was wearing a faded red baseball cap with a Marine Corps patch on the front of it. In retrospect, I realize that there was a lot of faded about the man.
---It turns out that he is a member of a local Marine Corps social group. He seemed to have difficulty processing the fact that Kamaroh could possibly have been a Marine (me too sometimes actually). The only ID I had to present to him was the bulldog tatoo on my arm, which I then did.
---He seemed to have difficulty deciding if he thought Kamaroh qualified to attend their social function at nearby Hi-End City; but, I guess my informing him that I was a member in longstanding of the Presbyterian church in that hamlet seemed to help and he agreed to Email me the information on the meeting this coming Saturday morning.
---Being on steroids it is very easy for me to be miffed off in interactions with other men on the norm, and as I left with my french onion soup, his uppity attitude bugged me, and I wondered how anyone who--looking at his dangling ID badge--was an employee of the County Hospital down the street could elevate himself so! Man! am I glad I now have Kaiser Emergency Room privileges and don't have to worry so much about being sent to County when the VA clinic is closed.
---It soon dawned on me, given that I haven't been in normal social intercourse with the Marine Corps body of troops in forty years, that maybe they all believe they are an elitist group nowadays....
---So, basically all day I pondered if I wanted to cancel my previous plan for Saturday morning and go hang out with a bunch of former Marines; and enjoy the networking and comradely payoffs to that; and, surely, the venerability I would be exposing myself to 'cause it is unpredictable who you are going to again meet up with--Marines don't always put down grudges very well.
---Anyhow, as profound insights (give or take 'profundity', that is!) always present themselves in the middle of the night and wake you up, I woke up in the middle of the night last night and I knew that attending this social function of former Marines required a different mind set than attending a Mens Breakfast at my church and that more information, more time, and more caution would be required (my paranoia that the Marines install in you very early in boot camp); and that I surely was not going to go to this.
---Serving in the Marines was not easy for Kamaroh even though I also bask in the current popularity they have earned; however bear in mind that not only am I a hero but I an old and experienced salt who is fully aware that hanging out with Marines can be like swimming with sharks, likely invigorating, but the only comfort to it being that you are likely safe from attacks by packs of wild dogs. #
