Wednesday Words

Some may not find the following story pleasant or funny but it illustrates how the mind works when you are in a place where the daily activities and contacts one has are not present. It takes place while I was stationed at Quang Tri Airbase just south of the DMZ in VietNam. It is one of the ways we entertained ourselves when there wasn't much to entertain you.

When we were lucky enough to receive a new replacement in our squadron we would immediately invite them to the club to get to know every one. We would sit at a table three or four with the new guy and introduce ourselves and learn to know about the new friend. On this occasion I was the one to the right of the subject (a position I always tried to get) as you became the initiator of the initiation. After a few moments of conversation I would go to the bar and buy one of those beef jerky sticks. Returning to the table I put the whole thing in my mouth and began to chew.

After about a minute of chewing in which those at the table began to talk about the importance of sharing and caring for our comrades in arms. At which time I would take the jerky from my mouth and pass it to my right. This was continued till we reached the new guy, usually he had already left but if he had not and accepted the now tasteless mass he was greeted with whoops and hand shakes of approval. Sadly the chew many times was returned to its original owner.