Thanking a Soldier

[replicant_argent]

Good for you Al.
I try to do the same when I travel. In Minnesota, we don't have that many bases of any kind, and it is not very common to see a troop in uniform, but I like to have a few extra in my travel case when I fly. No matter what airport you are near in this world, you are likely to see someone serving for YOU. I like to grab one or two, hand them over with a smile and say "Thanks for your service." Sometimes they say thanks (like they owe ME a thanks ) or say they don't smoke. I tell them to give them to a fellow soldier, if they don't mind. You do get strange looks when you do this. My wife wondered what the hell I was doing the first time she saw me do it. (There have been a few times when I "went to use the restroom" with my cigar caddy in hand. My lovely wife thinks I am enough of a dork as it is, and really isn't used to that kind of interaction, so she doesn't see it sometimes. )
One of my last trips, I had my cigar caddy in my checked luggage and felt like a real dumbass when I saw a couple young guys that looked like they were returning from leave, and I couldn't toss 'em a couple.
Whether you reach across an airplane aisle, over a seatback, or slip them a smoke at the gate or luggage carousel, it's always a good feeling.