"Duh, they kill people!"

I’m back from my weekend in Durham. And, after voluntarily getting bumped from last night’s flight, I’m surviving at work on caffeine alone. Last night it seemed worth it to sacrifice my 7pm flight for a 6am flight and $250 credit. Today, after waking up at 4:30am, traveling for four hours and heading straight to work… not so much.

I had a lovely time in North Carolina: the weather was beautiful, the people friendly, and good God am I happy that I live in New York City. One of the aspects of life in the South that I found most foreign (aside from the volume of American flag suspenders and the grating southern drawl) is the strong military presence. From yellow flag stickers on car and truck, to men in uniform drinking next to us at the bar, it could not have been more different than the peaceful hippies with whom I am most comfortable.

I recognize that I have a very narrow-minded view on all things war-related. Blame it on my hippy parents, or the fact that my junior high let us out of school to march against the first Gulf War, or the pizza restaurant where I worked as a teenager whose uniforms were tie-dyed shirts that said “Make pizza, not war.” Not a lot of yellow ribbons on the VW bugs of my youth in Berkeley, Ca. But as my experience expands beyond Northern Cali, I'm realizing that this strong anti-military view is not how much of America feels. In fact, many intelligent, interesting people that I met this weekend in NC served, and in some cases went to war for, our country.

In the past, when asked why I’m anti-military. My incredulous response was always: "Duh, they kill people!" Oversimplification? Of course. Perhaps it's not entirely fair to judge something I know very little about. When it comes to matters of national defense, and war, and soldier-type people, I’m clueless. Maybe I should make an effort to learn more, and THEN I can be harshly judgmental.

So, on Friday night, over some beers at a Chapel Hill brewery, I decided to learn as much as I could from a Captain in the army who happened to be a friend of my good friend, Carolyn. In my fascinating interview with the Captain (or Cap’n as the pirates say), I learned the following facts:

• No one refers to him as “Cap’n”
• When in uniform, soldiers are not allowed to remove their jacket and tie at anytime. Even if they’re in a bar. And it’s hot. Jacket stays on.
• The Marines are not water-related (this fact through me for a loop… doesn’t Marine MEAN “water” – poor planning, if you ask me.)
• During cold-weather survival training, the men actually have to spoon with another man for warmth.
• During this spooning, the two men are wearing nothing but underwear.
• At this point Carolyn interrupted and changed the subject.

But I feel that I am a little bit more informed. Who knew that an institution as tough as the military involved an act as gentle as spooning? And now I have that lovely vision in my head next time I encounter men in uniform.