Monday, December 15, 2008

If you're gonna panic...

The word of the day is context. Context is defined by dictionary.com as "the set of circumstances or facts that surround a particular event, situation, etc."

The context of a military base makes certain situations or events okay, even when, in any other context, they would be cause for blind, screaming like a banshee with it's finger caught in a car door, panic.

For instance, say you are walking down the street, carrying a large package you just picked up at the post office.

You are passing between the high school and the fitness center when you notice a man in full camouflage crouching in the grass near the sidewalk. He has a helmet on his head, a utility belt around his waist, and a large gun that might or might not be a sniper rifle in his hand. He is looking through the scope of the gun, which is pointed over the parking lot toward a number of parked cars and the entrance to the fitness center.

Looking past him you notice other men, all in camo, all with guns. Some are crouched, others a jogging up the sidewalk past the crouching ones.

How do you react to this?

Well, if you lived almost anywhere in the world you would drop your package and commence screaming like the aforementioned banshee.

But, since I live on a military base, I thought, "Aww, look at them with their war games. So cute," and continued on my way.

This concludes our discussion of the word context. Any questions?

I leave you today with a quote from Ani Difranco. "Taken out of context, I must seem so strange."