Cash and Credit are preferred, as they are fast and usually take little time to process, thus making the experience of yourself, the cashier and the customers behind you inline an “Express” experience.

please do not use:

Small change

checks, (if you must use small change please fill it out ahead of time – with every bit of information you can possibly have on it – Drivers License Number – Date of birth – home phone, work phone, next of kin social security number name and location of first born -for Pete’s sake get with the 21st century and start using cash or credit.

And finally I implore you – don’t bring coupons to the Express Lane.  Coupons do not equal “Express” (neither do checks).

Do these simple things, and the people behind you in line will indeed not be firing laser beams into the back of your head while YOU fail the douche-canoe test of not understanding the word “Express”

This has been a public service announcement from the Large Bald Man (LBM) behind you in line….with the laserbeams and loud mouth.

In many ways, my life has been both very hard and very easy, things were never as bad as they could be, and things were never as good as they could be.  Some of that I had control over some of it I didn’t.  Sometimes I did something about it, sometimes I didn’t do enough.  Overall pretty normal, pretty average.

I’ve been blessed with good friends and family for the most part, though there have been rough times on all of those fronts as well as fantastic times as well – again pretty normal.

In November of 1990 I was stationed in Ft. Riley Kansas, my unit was put on Alert and in December off we went to Saudi Arabia to serve in Operation Desert Shield it turned into Desert Storm, and my unit went racing across the border into Iraq, turned right went down through the burning oil fields, saw a small amount of action, then moved as fast as we could to the Kuwait Airstrip. Then Blam it was over – next thing I knew it was May of 1991 and I was on a bird back for the Grand ole US of A.

That is it, the gist of my “combat tour” in one tiny paragraph.

But we got home, to (for the most part) a greatful nation.  People met us at the airport cheering, they met us when we arrived back at Ft. Riley cheering.  We went to the bars in down town Junction City KS. and people bought us drinks, I had the privilege to March in the “National Victory Celebration” In Washington DC, and people lined the streets and cheered. I walked the National Mall in DC like a celebrity, people shook my hand, thanked me, gave me drinks, kissed me, asked me to do them the honor of sitting with them, oh and just for the heck of it they put on one hell of a fireworks display for us and had countless performing artists play for us.  I Marched in a Ticker Tape Parade in New York City really a FREAKING tickertape parade!  and people lined the streets, cheered us, covored us in grattitude.  THEN as if all of that wasn’t enough – they closed the USS Intrepid to the public, and threw a huge party for us.  took us on boat tours out around Elis Island.  I walked the streets of NY that day – they TOLD US to stay in uniform, people shook my hand, kissed me, even more….

But I told you all of that to tell you this….

The people who cheered the most, the ones who bought me the most drinks, the ones I stayed up with till 3 in the morning listening to their stories, the ones who cheered the loudest, with the most tears in their eyes, those people DESERVED what we got. They should have had what we had, they faced 100 times the danger and peril we did. they did 100x more than we did, they gave up more than we did.  and most of them somewhere had this:

Most of these folks were Vietnam Vets who deserved SO MUCH MORE what we got than we did, and I told them that every chance I had.  and I do it again now.

Please don’t misunderstand, I am very thankful and honored for and by the reception we recieved, I am proud to have served my country, and honored that my country appreciated it.  I am disappointed however that those who returned from Vietnam didn’t get the same thing, when they needed it most.

To all veterans everywhere, I say to you with all respect, love and appreciation.

Thank You!

Fear God – Dreadnought!