On Tue, 20 Jul 2004 06:31:01 GMT, (The Watcher) wrote:

(snip)
I didn't even bother mentioning hippies. I was referring to the behavior of the
country as a whole, which I still consider abominable.

Got some recent news which shows that not EVERYBODY is looking to repeat the
history of Vietnam.

Fellow passengers treat US Troops to first class.
By Rebecca Ann Markway, Knight Ridder Newspapers
Washington.-- A group of American soldiers returning from Iraq got ticket
upgrades on an American Airlines flight last month, but not from the airline.
A first-class passenger on American Airlines Flight 866 from Atlanta to
Chicago on June 29 started a domino effect in first-class when he gave up his
seat to a soldier, American Airlines spokesman Jacquie Young said.
The man, whom the airline declined to identify, noticed the group of
soldiers in the boarding area.
As he boarded the plane, he asked the flight attendant if he could give up
his first-class seat to one of them.
The flight attendant shrugged him off and went about boarding passengers,
Young said.
When the first soldier boarded the plane, the man asked, "Hey soldier,
where are you sitting?" Young said.
When the soldier replied that he was sitting in seat 22E, the first-class
passenger said, "No, you're sitting here," and he gave him his seat.
As the other soldiers boarded the plane, other first-class passengers
surrendered their seats until soldiers filled 12 of the MD-80's 16 first-class
seats.
"We actually ran out of soldiers," Young said.

I'd say that deserves a BIG thumbs up.