Message #297121

[franksolich]

The man with the royal monogram--now determined to be middle aged, average height, stocky build, wearing a great-coat--asked me who I was, and what I was doing.

I expected to be frisked, but nothing of the sort happened, perhaps because cold weather doesn't bother me, and so I was very lightly clothed.

Instead of answering him, I handed him my passport.

He examined the document, and stared at me as if I were Bozo from Outer Space.

Then he started shooting questions at me, too quickly for me to grasp.

I lifted my right hand, to brush aside the hair on the right side of my head, showing the absence of ears, so as to slow him down.

He saw that, and then looked at me again as if I were some sort of Phenomenon Never Seen Before.

"They were shooting at you, you know," he said; "and you were walking right through it.  They were shooting at you."

To this day, I think the gentleman was just bluffing, trying to scare me. 

Being deaf, I cannot hear gunfire, but I rather suspect that if I were being shot at, I would know it.

The monogrammed gentleman then indicated that I had to be taken away, to see his boss, to get "cleared."

Well, there was nothing I could do about it, so I said, sure, no problem.

Unlike the gigantic primitive, who sours when given a lemon, my attitude was, when given a lemon, make lemonade.  I was going to get my first ride in an official military vehicle, and that was at least something.

now the cat William's trying to bring in the dead bird by the back way, and so I have to go stop him; no dead wildlife allowed inside the premises--back in a bit