And now for something completely different...

Moving beyond "Seeker" and his rather ostentatious presentation of his ability to include the f-word in a sentence as many times as possible...

I was watching the wheel sections last night, and talking with a backup shift that I get along with very well. His old man was a Marine in Korea, and he has a real appreciation for the sacrifice made in serving in the military, so we were discussing the passing of Frank Buckles. In the middle of a sentence, he interrupts me and points to someone behind me. It is a frail-looking old man with a Veterans cap on. The cap is brand new, and is designed with the large image of the Bronze Star offset from the center of the cap and bill, with "WWII Veteran" across the top, and "Normandy Beach" in the edge of the cap's bill. The shift (his name is Chris) walks over and shakes the man's hand, and asks which unit he landed with.

Seems the man (his name was Clyde, and he was a 1st Lt. on the day of the landing) waded ashore at Omaha Beach with the 1st Infantry Division (the Big Red One), watched as 4 out of every ten members of his platoon died while he somehow managed to move from sand hole to sand hole for nearly an hour before they could get close enough to the Germans to find real cover. Clyde earned his Star for keeping the men around him together and alive until the second wave of landing craft arrived. He didn't want the award, and only wears the hat because he's proud of his unit. Both Chris and I mentioned that we were talking about heroes right before we saw his hat, and mentioned that Buckles had just passed. He said he'd read that, and that Buckles was more of a man then he'd ever be... he went back to war in 1941 after seeing WWI, and Clyde vowed he'd never see or fire another bullet once his fight was finished. He then explained that he tried to re-enlist in 1951, but was rejected due to injuries suffered in WWII.

Another frequent visitor to the joint is named Joe, and he loudly and proudly tells anyone that asks that he followed Clark all the way up the Italian "boot". He's got two Purple Hearts and a "whopping big cane" to show for the effort, too... and even though he's an old Italian himself (from Philly) he still can't eat olives without wanting to puke.

If I learned anything from meeting Frank Buckles, its that I'm going to shake the hand of every veteran I see. You won't believe the people you meet when you do... and it is an absolutely great way to make some damn fine friends, too. Joe has actually brought in pictures and details about a house he owns near the casino, because he heard me talking to someone about wanting to move closer to work. Clyde talked with Chris and I for more than 30 minutes, and ended up making a spectacular comeback in roulette, turning a $200 loss into a $1100 win. He promised to come back and look us up next time he and his "girlfriend" were in town (the man is 88 years old).

Oh, and Clyde, if you read this... the zero/double zero really AREN'T in the first dozen. I wasn't making that up. Sorry, my friend.