Roy
Farewell our Curmudgeon Administrator
If I could, I'd enlist today and help my country track down those responsible for killing
thousands of innocent people in New York City and Washington, D.C. But I'm over 60 now,
and the Armed Forces say I'm too old to track down terrorists. You can't be older than
35 to join the military. They've got the whole thing backwards.
Instead of sending 18-year-olds off to fight, they ought to take us old guys. You shouldn't
be able to join until you're at least 35. For starters:
- Researchers say 18-year-olds think about sex every ten seconds. Old guys only think
about sex a couple of times a day, leaving us more than 28,000 additional seconds per
day to concentrate on the enemy.
- Young guys haven't lived long enough to be cranky, and a cranky soldier is a dangerous
soldier. If we can't kill the enemy, we'll complain them into submission. "My back hurts!"
"I'm hungry!" "Where's the remote control?"
- An 18-year-old hasn't had a legal beer yet, and you shouldn't go to war until you're
at least old enough to legally drink. An average old guy, on the other hand, has consumed
126,000 gallons of beer by the time he's 35, and a jaunt through the desert heat with
a backpack and M-60 would do wonders for the old beer belly.
- An 18-year-old doesn't like to get up before 10 a.m. Old guys get up early (to pee).
- If old guys are captured, we couldn't spill the beans because we'd probably forget
where we put them. In fact, name, rank and serial number would be a real brainteaser.
- Boot camp would actually be easier for old guys. We're used to getting screamed and
yelled at, and we actually like soft food. We've also developed a deep appreciation
for guns and rifles. We like them almost better than naps. They could lighten up on
the obstacle course, however. I've been in combat and didn't see a single 20-foot wall
with rope hanging over the side, nor did I ever do any pushups after training. I can
hear the Drill Sergeant now, "Get down and give me...er...one."
- And the running part is kind of a waste of energy. I've never seen anyone outrun a
bullet
An 18-year-old has the whole world ahead of him. He's still learning to shave. To actually
carry on a conversation. To wear pants without the top of the butt crack showing and the
boxer shorts sticking out. To learn that a pierced tongue catches food particles. And that
a 200-watt speaker in the back seat of a Honda Accord can rupture an eardrum. All great
reasons to keep our sons at home and to learn a little more about life before sending
them off to a possible death. Let us old guys track down those dirty, rotten cowards who
attacked our hearts on September 11. The last thing the enemy would want to see right now
is a couple of million old farts with attitudes.
thousands of innocent people in New York City and Washington, D.C. But I'm over 60 now,
and the Armed Forces say I'm too old to track down terrorists. You can't be older than
35 to join the military. They've got the whole thing backwards.
Instead of sending 18-year-olds off to fight, they ought to take us old guys. You shouldn't
be able to join until you're at least 35. For starters:
- Researchers say 18-year-olds think about sex every ten seconds. Old guys only think
about sex a couple of times a day, leaving us more than 28,000 additional seconds per
day to concentrate on the enemy.
- Young guys haven't lived long enough to be cranky, and a cranky soldier is a dangerous
soldier. If we can't kill the enemy, we'll complain them into submission. "My back hurts!"
"I'm hungry!" "Where's the remote control?"
- An 18-year-old hasn't had a legal beer yet, and you shouldn't go to war until you're
at least old enough to legally drink. An average old guy, on the other hand, has consumed
126,000 gallons of beer by the time he's 35, and a jaunt through the desert heat with
a backpack and M-60 would do wonders for the old beer belly.
- An 18-year-old doesn't like to get up before 10 a.m. Old guys get up early (to pee).
- If old guys are captured, we couldn't spill the beans because we'd probably forget
where we put them. In fact, name, rank and serial number would be a real brainteaser.
- Boot camp would actually be easier for old guys. We're used to getting screamed and
yelled at, and we actually like soft food. We've also developed a deep appreciation
for guns and rifles. We like them almost better than naps. They could lighten up on
the obstacle course, however. I've been in combat and didn't see a single 20-foot wall
with rope hanging over the side, nor did I ever do any pushups after training. I can
hear the Drill Sergeant now, "Get down and give me...er...one."
- And the running part is kind of a waste of energy. I've never seen anyone outrun a
bullet
An 18-year-old has the whole world ahead of him. He's still learning to shave. To actually
carry on a conversation. To wear pants without the top of the butt crack showing and the
boxer shorts sticking out. To learn that a pierced tongue catches food particles. And that
a 200-watt speaker in the back seat of a Honda Accord can rupture an eardrum. All great
reasons to keep our sons at home and to learn a little more about life before sending
them off to a possible death. Let us old guys track down those dirty, rotten cowards who
attacked our hearts on September 11. The last thing the enemy would want to see right now
is a couple of million old farts with attitudes.