Originally Posted by FLMD11CAPT

Oh my.......Vagabond.....a Tinfoil hat?????? Really? I think the OP was being serious. I have a Hat. It's a Capt's Hat....(used to be one here before a Royal 4A2B Horse Whipping). I will wear it in support of all NC efforts. Hope the CP finds me and says I am out uniform as he did to an F/O at a recent ceremony for a deceased pilot. The supporting F/O had never owned a Blazer, but bought one to wear at his Buddys Memorial. He couldn't find his original wings but wore the mandatory Blazer (Short notice, Sans wings) anyway to try and support his Buddys Family. Long story short, CP finds him in the crowd, tells him he is out of uniform (in front of everyone including non-Company pilots), then proceeds to procure a set of Capt's wings and insist on a public "winging" (so much for honoring a fallen Crewmate) for the "out of uniform" F/O. At the end of the "Winging".....LOL ....said F/O is STILL out of uniform as the CP insisted on pinning Capt's wings on him. (You can't make this Sh"t up folks). Quote of the day?....CP.... "It was the best solution Available"......Hmmmm.....Out of uniform to......out of uniform........Just Culture my Patootie.

Originally Posted by Anthrax

Funny. This reminds me of a conversation I had with an old timer once about lanyards.

He said, "Are you in the Marine Corps, sonny?"

And because I'm a stupid Marine, I said, "Uh, well, hm, it's just that, wait, what was the question again?"

Actually, that's not true. I snapped his neck instead.

Actually, that's not true either. I engaged in a conversation with him wondering what it would feel like to wrap my Marine Corps lanyard around his scrawny neck and choke off his oxygen supply. Ooh rah!

This job, be proud of it if you like, feel like you're on the A team or whatever, but it's still just a job. Conversely the Corps is a way of life, an ethos, and there's honor in that. If you weren't a Marine you don't get it. And if you were a Marine, here bad mouthing other Marines, you need a good old-fashioned blanket party. There is pride in us fat and disgusting non-300 pft'ers wearing that lanyard, and not so much with ALPA. A union is a necessary evil in place to prevent corporations from marauding our pay and benefits and quality of life. To believe that managers are intimidated by our lanyards is as foolish as believing that a Marine is intimidated when challenged for wearing his lanyard. Yeah, we're dumb and all and my not be, uhm, able to, er, put it into so many words, but that doesn't mean we're still not thinking of ways to choke you out. Ooh rah!

To be fair, where were you courageous old souls years ago when we were agreeing to operate fedex airplanes under parking-lot deals? These porous contracts should have been cemented years ago, but where was the leadership then?

So when an old timer comes up to me asking about my lanyard, mostly I just smile and say shucks, and hem and haw and kick the dirt, because as pappy used to say, "Never get into an argument with a fool, because they'll take you down to their level and beat you with experience."

Ooh rah, and don't forget to get some!