At Moe’s on 21st Street in Norfolk:
Burrito: Whew. Thanks man. That foil wrapper was stifling.
Me: No worries.
Burrito: So. What brings you to town?
Me: Och. Day-and-a-half meeting with one or another of these cross functional team thingies of which the Navy has recently grown so fond. Complete with contractor-types left, right and center. Not to mention civilians.
Burrito: You, ah… You don’t like contractor-types? And civilians?
Me: No, that’s not it. The contractors bring a lot of specialized experience to the fight, and help us stay on track. They’re bottom-line type guys, and know that they have to deliver product. Otherwise some of us in the khaki-clad set would maybe be content to spend lifetimes arguing over how many aircraft carriers might fit on the head of a pin. Or something.
Burrito: And civilians?
Me: Likewise, for the most part. Although I did see something I found sort of amusing over the last two days.
Burrito: Really? Do tell.
Me: Well, outside the headquarters was this parking spot, right up front, labelled “Civilian of the Quarter.” And over the two days I was there, the spot remained perpetually empty. Heh.
Burrito: And that’s funny… how?
Me: Well, it could be ironic-like, couldn’t it? I mean: Was the spot empty because there was no civilian of the quarter? Or did the fact that the guy wasn’t ever around make him the civilian of the quarter, you know: By comparison?
Burrito:
Me: To the other civilians.
Burrito:
Me:
Burrito: Maybe it’s a uniform thing.
Me:
Burrito: What?
Me:
Burrito: What? What are you looking at? What is that? Salsa? Ouch – that stings!
Me:
Burrito: No. Wait. Stop. OUCH! Quit it!
Me:
Burrito: Look, stop, man. Can’t we talk about this? OK, OK, so it was funny. STOP IT!
Me:
Burrito:
Me: Mmmm. Burrito.
Update:
Foil Wrapper: Cruel, dude. I mean: That was like, sick!
Me: Don’t even start. It’s embarrassing.
Foil Wrapper: Wha…?!? What do you mean?
Me: You were supposed to protect him, man. You had to know how this was going to end.
‘Round the Bend
*ALERT ALERT*
Are there any helpful readers in San Diego who could inform the men with the extra-large butterfly nets to be at the airport when Lex arrives back from his trip to Norfolk?
Usually my food talks back to me AFTER I eat it. Pepcid and Tums and I have this marvelous relationship…………..
Hey..Great Goldstein impression, Lex!
And appropos of nothing, Dubya did good at your old school today, dint he?
Also appropos of nothing, saw a couple of F/A-18s on the ramp at Cannon AFB today and thought of you. Don’t see too many Navy birds out this way….
Regarding spicy food, I think CDR Marchinko, USN (Ret.) says it best:
‘Come on Ice Cream!’
That was classic. I love the pauses between the two of you.
Thanks, Capt. Lex – you just helped me decide what I’m having for dinner tonight.
Maybe you should take Prilosec before eating Tex-Mex next time.
Either that or Prozac.
*I swear, flight doc, the burrito told me to do it- I swear! And just WAIT until you hear what the beans and rice wanted me to do…. *
Soooooo… it’s *not* just the sushi that talks back.
Briefly.
Disturbing. Just a disturbing dialog… Had a burrito myself earlier. Disturbing.
Buck and Mr. Lex,
I agree. Not spectacular in the diction, but as they say, I prefer conviction over diction. Watched the speech on C-Span, including all the “atmosphere” shots. Boy, those midshipmen look young.
Buck,
What’s with that wildfire out east of me?
I see your churlish self cut such a wide swath through Norfolk that by Wednesday only the food would talk to you!
I would recommend, should you again be stuck in the World’s Largest Strip Mall that Norfolk is, that you go across the street from Moe’s and go to Cora. The name is the great aunt of the owner, and the food is Southern home cooking but fancy enough for the black t-shirt crowd. My wife and I faithfully went there when I was in port–nice place.
And they tend not to put Goldstein’s Psychoactives in the food…
What are you doing eating a dang burrito in Norfolk, VA of all places when you come from San Diego? duh…Even I wait to eat all burritos at Tres Milpas (sic?) under the bridge in SD. That might only happen 2-3 times a year but you must stay away from amatuers.
re Contractors. Not nice. I resemble that remark.
re- .ppt- I’m a cowboy but what makes me real dangerous is I know how to use .xls.
Uhh, Boss… During my worst days, I NEVER had an MRE talk back to me…
…It did chuckle, however… Evilly…
Reese: About that wildfire. You got me. But I’m glad they got it under control! It was just south of me (I’m in Portales) and sure created a LOT of smoke. There was enough residual smoke in the air that the sunset was a bit more spectacular than usual.
The Burrito will have the last painful word.
They always do with me.
Truedat.
[...] If I do, will my deathless prose include interlocution with a burrito? [...]
[...] The good news? No talking burrito. [...]
mlm leads…
mlm leads…