That's good eatin'

I talked to a soldier a couple of days ago about a mutual friend back home. I told the soldier I was a bit worried about our friend. When I saw him on leave, he seemed depressed. We talked about that a bit, and the soldier told me that our friend is taking care of the soldier’s dog while we’re deployed. The soldier said “I think [my dog] cheers him up. She’s pretty good about that.”

While checking a different email network in our Mayor’s office, I overheard a 19 year old female soldier microwaving some lunch and talking about it. She said she never goes to the chow hall. I asked her about that, and she described how delicious macaroni and cheese is, and how she bought a case of it a week ago, pointing to it, and how all she has left are a few packets. She eats it pretty much for every meal, rounded out by a soda pop. I asked her what she does for variety to make sure she gets healthy nutrition. She said that she gets a pizza now and then. I told her she was going to get rickets, or scurvy, eating like that. I said, “Well, I hope you’re at least taking vitamins.” She burst out laughing, and said “You’re kidding, aren’t you?”