STORIES FROM THE MALL

I am a quiet person, usually, and I overhear conversations that I really should not be privy to for any reason.  It is amazing to me that most folks pay absolutely no attention to those nearby who might hear their conversation.  They do not seem to care.  I am very careful about what I repeat.  Never anything harmful or mean.  However, if it is something funny, watch out, because I am going to blab, just not any names.

This is a prime example of one conversation I overheard last week.

Several women were discussing different topics over lunch.  The usual stuff, home, family and children.  Then they started discussing their children serving in the military.

One woman told of her son in the Navy.  He was aboard a nuclear submarine.  She told how they would go to sea for months at a time, underwater, not coming up unless they had a reason.  They would surface at pre-arranged places in the world to pick up new supplies,
mail and rotate personnel.

The last time they arrived at their port in Virginia, the ship hosted a party so the families of the crew could visit their ship and see where they lived and worked.  Then the crew and all the visitors went for a short run.  They would get the feel of the ship in motion.

Something that struck my funny bone was the sleeping accommodations for the crew.  It seems that everything on a sub is in three shifts.  If it is your turn to sleep, you go to your assignied bunk, put your personal sheets on the bed and go to sleep.  When it is time for you to be back on duty you take your personal sheets and pillow away to your locker.

Close your eyes and visualize these young men stripping a bed or even making a bed on a zillion-dollar submarine.  It boggles the mind.  What, no maid service available?

Personally, I would never survive being underwater that long, months at a time, because the first thing I would do would be to open all the windows.  I think that would be a big no-no.  Oh well, I do NOT like being underwater anyway.

Bless those boys (men) who serve our country.  We would be in a bad place without them.

Going to a mall is not my idea of fun, so, when my daughters insist I accompany them, I always have a book in my purse.  When I get tired the girls park me at the food court and continue their shopping.  While in the food court I watch the crowds walking, talking and some actually fighting or some just goofing off.  One thing in particular that I hate to see is the young guys wearing their pants so low on their hips you can see their underwear.  I just want to get behind them, give those pants a jerk, and watch them fall down while everyone laughed at them.  Then, maybe, if  they were embarrassed enough, they would dress like a human and not a gangster.  I am not going to hold my breath waiting for that to happen.

So many things I overhear are funny and I do not mind sharing  them.  I do not share the important things overheard that would hurt someone.

Once, while waiting for the girls, I heard some young women discussing something that had happened at their office.  I thought you micht like to have a good laugh about nine computer geeks.  Their words, not mine.

Close your eyes and listen to my words.  Create in your mind this vision.  There are nine computer engineers trying to assess the problem of moving one data server exactly one foot.  If the cables are out of the server, their very important client will lose a lot of their information that is stored on that particular server and be out of commission at least four hours.

After much discussion, they finally agreed upon a plan of action.  Three engineers would hold all the cables so they would not fall out of the server.  Three engineers were on the floor carefully moving the server to the new section of the floor and, three engineers were standing over them all, supervising the entire procedure.  Can you believe this?  I can because I knew the girl telling the story.  She was not being mean, she just thought the whole thing was just to funny for words and I agree.

This is just a sample of what I hear at the mall.  That is the one place that folks gather to shop, laugh, buy items of interest or, just to be out of the house for a while.

I am a firm believer that "laughter is the best medicine".  If you can laugh at all the silly things that happen in life, you will be a very happy person.

I do not think a little humor is out of place, to be able to laugh is to feel better, calmer.

Maybe what all diplomats need is a laughing pill so they could be civil to each other and not be so quick to argue and point fingers of blame, or, be so quick to go to war.