Were You Over There?

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I walked into Casey's, a local convenience store and gas station down the street from my house, to grab some beer. Their prices are the same as Walmart, who typically has the best price, so in a pinch I go there to get it instead of trekking out to Walmart which is farther away and takes more time to get in and out. I headed for the beer section in the back of the store and then made my way up the middle aisle toward the cash register when a man appeared there at the end of the aisle. "Were you over there?" he asked me, and sort of gestured in the direction of the next aisle over. I thought it was an odd question, but responded anyway. "No, I went down the other aisle because there was a woman at the ATM and didn't want to have to maneuver around her," I told him. "No, In Iraq," he said. It then dawned on me I was wearing my Operation Iraqi Freedom shirt my sister got me many years ago that I still wear. "Oh. No. That was my sister. She was in the Air Force for 10 years and spent 6 months over there," I informed him. At least my confusion was abated.