Marines to the Rescue

"Monica"*

*A man observed a woman in the grocery store with
a three year old girl in her basket. As they passed the
cookie section, the little girl asked for cookies and her
mother told her no. The little girl immediately began
to whine and fuss, and the mother said quietly, "Now
Monica, we just have half of the aisles left to go
through; don't be upset. It won't be long."

Soon they came to the candy aisle, and the little girl
began to shout for candy. And when told she couldn't
have any, began to cry. The mother said, "There, there,
Monica, don't cry--only two more aisles to go, and
then we'll be checking out."

When they got to the check-out stand, the little girls
immediately began to clamor for gum and burst into
a terrible tantrum upon discovering there'd be no gum
purchased. The mother patiently said, "Monica, we'll
be through this check out stand in 5 minutes and then
you can go home and have a nice nap."

The man followed them out to the parking lot and
stopped the woman to compliment her. "I couldn't
help noticing how patient you were with little Monica," he began.

Whereupon the mother said, "I'm Monica -- my little girl's name is Tammy."

******************************************************

"Marines to the Rescue"*

*As the crowded airliner is about to take off, the
peace is shattered by a five-year-old boy who picks
that moment to throw a wild temper tantrum. No
matter what his frustrated, embarrassed mother
does to try to calm him down, the boy continues
to scream furiously and kick the seats around him.

Suddenly, from the rear of the plane, a man in a U.S.
Marine Corps uniform is seen slowly walking forward
up the aisle. Stopping the flustered mother with an
upraised hand, the courtly, soft-spoken Marine leans
down and, motioning toward his chest, whispers
something into the boy's ear.

Instantly, the boy calms down, gently takes his
mother's hand, and quietly fastens his seat belt.
All the other passengers burst into spontaneous applause!

As the Marine slowly makes his way back to his seat,
one of the cabin attendants touches his sleeve.
"Excuse me, sir," she asks quietly, "but could I ask you
what magic words you used on that little boy?"

The Marine smiles serenely and gently confides, "I
showed him my pilot's wings, service stars, and
battle ribbons, and explained that they entitle me
to throw one passenger out the plane door, on
any flight I choose, and that I was just about to
pick someone on this flight!"
Received on Sun Aug 1 08:25:11 2010