conuly

Being near Pennsylvania Station at suppertime recently, I stopped in to have dinner at my favorite salad bar. As I approached the Long Island Rail Road area, I realized that security must have been beefed up again for the holiday season, as three soldiers were standing there, rifles in hand, wearing their completely out-of-place camouflage uniforms.

Deciding it was time to finally satisfy my curiosity, I marched up to them, and the following conversation took place:

Me: Would you mind answering a question for me? Why is it that you wear camouflage uniforms, given that you obviously aren't camouflaged at all?

Soldier No. 1: You can see us, right?

Me: Yes.

Soldier No. 2: Well, that's the point.

See, I already knew this, though I suspect that my reaction to it is different from this woman's reaction. My reaction is that they're visible not so much to scare potential terrorists as to scare normal citizens so that we'll be less likely to protest things like wars and a gradual weakening of the constitution.

Yes, I *am* my father's child. Those of you (Ginger) who knew my dad don't need to point this out.