I went into Chick-fil-A today where my daughter works. She needed me to drop her off there for her shift and I needed lunch.
I wear 3 different baseball hats typically (not all at once...one at a time as is the custom where I live).
Hat 1. Coaches hat from the Girl's homeschool soccer team that I coached. Hat 2. US Army hat. 3. VANS hat that a tenant left (it was brand new so I adopted it).
Today I had hat number 2 on, US ARMY.
I am proud that I served 13.5 years in an ACR (Armored Cavalry Regiment).
We had Helicopters, Mortars, Scouts, Tanks (M1A1 Main Battle Tanks), Bradley Fighting Vehicles, Artillery and a host of other vehicles and personnel. I was in an M1A1 as a tank commander for most of the time and a Bradley fighting vehicle as Executive Officer. I am a veteran.
Yes, I wear the hat but I don't talk about those years in service, I don't make a big deal out of it. That was one chapter of my life and now I am on the next chapter. The hat keeps the sun off my head and that is the purpose.
Today I went up to get a refill on a drink and one of my daughter's co-workers, a quite tall girl (maybe 6 foot or more) said to me "Thank you for your service". That was very nice of her and I thanked her for it while wondering how she knew I served. I realized I was wearing my Army hat.
That's when she said something very interesting.
Then she looked me in the eye and said earnestly "WELCOME HOME".
I have a pretty bushy beard right now and have been out of the service nearly 19 years. Welcome, Home? Why would someone say that?
I returned to my table and asked my daughter "Do I look like a prisoner of war?" Welcome home seems such an odd thing to say. Chik-Fil-A certainly is not my home.
The girl has seen me before there many times.
Maybe it was one of those moments when you mean to say something else and the wrong thing blurts out. Story of my life dear readers.
Any ideas why she said "Welcome Home"? It was one of those weird moments when one feels as if they slipped into an alternate reality for a quick second then casually slipped back into this one (The way an old man will casually slip into a pair of night shoes then slip back out of them to go for a walk).