I still fold my socks together like I was taught in Navy Boot Camp in 1967. In fact, I have struck up conversations at the laundramat with several ex-sailors after seeing how they folded their socks. That is a sure giveaway of an ex sailor.
Curt

Yeah, I forgot about the gig line! Been many years, but I still check it every time I pull up my pants and latch my belt.

But in reference to my earlier posting about meeting old salts at the laundramat, let me tell a true story. All my stories are true, by the way. I simply don't have the imagination to make them up!

One of the gentlemen I met at the laundramat a few months ago is nearly 90 years old and pretty grizzled. His wife passed away about six years ago and he lives alone and now has to do his own laundry. When I saw him roll his socks and fold them together like that, I knew he had to be ex-Navy, as I have never seen any soldiers do it that way.

So I struck up a conversation with him, knowing he was a vet and he said he was a boswain mate on a small ship that plied the Pacific in the early 1930's. He spent a lot of time in China and once French Indo-China, which nowadays is known as Viet Nam. He said he could see signs of Japanese aggression even where he was at and knew that trouble was brewing in the future. He mustered out of the Navy in early 1937, so didn't get to see the actual fighting between the Chinese and Japanese, but he had a few not-so-nice things to say about Roosevelt about not taking the Chinese/Japanese situation seriously enough.

All, in all, it was a very interesting conversation. I don't know about the rest of you guys, but I can usually spot a vet real easy. From things as simple as they fold their socks to reading the message on their baseball caps or bumper stickers on their vehicles. Over the past ten years, I have made it a point to meet and greet and thank every single one that I come across. I realize all too well that we are loosing WW2 vets at the rate of over a thousand a day and in a few years, there won't be any left to tell their stories. I have never had any problems with any that didn't want to talk about their experiences, probably because the way I meet them puts them at ease with themselves.

I know it sure makes my day, and I am absolutely sure that it made their day, knowing that SOMEONE out there still respects them and is thankful for what they gave for our country.

I would suggest others do what I do. It does not hurt any and you find more friends that way. Just do it before it is too late!
Curt

I guess uniformity fits me too. I live alone, so it is up to me, myself, and I to keep things organized. I can't stand it when a can of tomatoes, or whatever is in the cupboard with the label turned so you can't see it. I have to have all the labels so you can look up at a glance and see what you have.
Curt