Whole Foods

  I went to Whole Foods this morning to get some breakfast.  They have this great assortment of cold food you can sample and buy to heat up if you want a quick meal.  I got a potato latke for a dollar and took it over to the dining area to eat it.   
  On the way there, I saw a middle aged guy reading a book laughing his butt off.  Wow, I wonder what he's reading, I thought to myself. 
  I saw a little station for massages: "10 minutes for 10 dollars."  I hadn't had a massage in a while, so after I finished my latke, I went up to the guy working there and gave him 8 bucks for a massage.  We talked about old films, the 'electric universe,' and dark matter.  I ended up getting about 10 minutes anyway, so I tipped him.
  After the massage I took off past the middle aged guy's table and noticed he was reading one of my favorite author's books:  Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut.  I had to stop and ask him what he thought about it.  We talked about "ice-9" and how amazing Vonnegut was at expressing ideas that anyone could understand and how he did it in such a clever unassuming way.  I said, "Well Greg. it's good to know that other people enjoy good fiction... Not like Faulkner, which I think is complete and utter trash."
  He agreed, "I think he's one of those guys I'd have to drink a fifth of bourbon to be able to even read."
  We talked about other books we enjoyed like London's The Sea Wolf and he told me it had always been his ambition to be able to crush an apple with his bare hand like the captain in that story; how he planned to squeeze a tennis ball for a year to work up to such a feat and how he was reading/relaxing to get some ideas for a teleconference he would have later in the day.
  I noticed he had a bank statement from USAA on the table.  USAA is a bank that caters to military members.
  "Wow, were you in the military?"
   He said, "Yeah, that's about the best thing I ever got from my military experience."
   "I was too.  Well, it's good to know that other people enjoy good fiction."  We laughed, shook hands, and I was on my way.
   Veterans are all over the place.  It's really cool to be able to have that common ground with someone that bridges generations and levels of success.  I think some people might have this idea of veterans as the guy in fatigues begging for money on the street corner.  When, in all actuality, they are genuine, smart, successful people you meet in all areas of life.