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Friday, November 11, 2016

11/11

The First World War ended with an armistice, signed at the eleventh minute of the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month.  When I was a boy, November Eleventh was Armistice Day.  At some point, when it became clear that this was not The War to End All Wars, November 11th morphed into Veteran's Day.  I just got back from the Harris-Teeter supermarket across the street, where I had gone to pick up some grapes, some sugar, and a bottlew of Prosecco for my wife [I drink Cabernet.]  At the checkout counter, the young man at the cash register asked whether I was a veteran.  Well, as it happens, I am, in a manner of speaking, inasmuch as the first six months of my six year National Guard service in 1957 was on active duty.  I have the Honorable Discharge to prove it.  So I said "yes," somewhat abashedly, seeing as how I never was in the slightest danger, save from Sgt. McVicker, who was a mean son of a botch.  Whereupon, I got an 11% discount.  Had I known, I would have bought more.

4 comments:

s. wallerstein said...

That is interesting about the United States or maybe about North Carolina. In Chile it would be assumed that everyone would claim to be a veteran in order to get the 11% discount and you'd have to show a notarized copy of your military discharge papers besides your photo ID. In spite of the all the scandals and Trump, the United States is still a country where people assume that you're telling the truth: that is not the case everywhere by any means.

David Auerbach said...

I think that's almost true. RPW looks a certain way. I can imagine other looks (whatever the age) that would not either have provoked the question nor the acceptance of the response.

Ed Barreras said...

An update on Richard Rorty's prescient prediction of Trump from '97. Slate did a write up on it. And here's what Rorty says immediately after the passage that was quoted: "After my imagined strongman takes charge, he will quickly make his peace with the international superrich." And now T***p is stocking his beuracracy with Wall Streeters and promising privatized roads and bridges. Apparently imbibing too much Dewey makes one clairvoyant.

http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2016/11/11/richard_rorty_predicted_election_of_trump_like_figure_election_in_1998.html

J. W. F. said...

Sanders' Times Op-Ed: http://nyti.ms/2epRZVl