Call me a pussy--but this thread makes me a bit sad.
In my neck if the woods, we see and come in contact with a lot of active and past military folk. Kenai is known as Anchorage's playground and head into town often for Costco runs or a match or recreate/hunt, etc on base. I don't run around singing "thank you for your service" but like many on this eve of so much active duty by those around us, I have a freshened appreciation for the hard work, efforts, pain and loss of those that serve and their families' have experienced. Folks that are not military, who haven't undertaken a line of work whether as a career or shorter commitment, that involves even the most remote possibility of having someone shoot at them or shoot other, have a renewed sense of recognition what it is that the service men and women do for all of us.
So if someone says thank you, they should be thankful, but to be pissed off or put out by it is nothing less than unfortunate. Is it possibly a trite auto response, possibly for some, but so are most pleases, thank you's, sirs and yes ma'ams. What the hell is wrong with that. Rudeness begets rudeness and I fucking hate rudeness more than most things in life--maybe not more than Mosquitos, but fucking hate it.
So, be happy with the small things folks offer, may seem trivial, even a $2 cup of coffee. Insignificant to many, a lot to some. I probably don't do it enough. Probably don't say thank you enough. Have bought a few drinks, mostly at the airport as that just seems to be the bars where I strike up most conversations. Swapped my first class seat few Christmases ago with a younger GI in uniform that looked for more tired than I.
I vote, I buy/shoot/build guns every opportunity my work allows, I fight to protect constitutional rights of friends, clients, family every day. Other than that, I pretty much just breath fucking air--as do all of us, many of whom are I fact thankful.
