A colonel of truth

When my son was in the Army he was stationed for about 15 months at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas. We visited him several times while he was there.

On one trip, he was showing us around the base. As we walked along a section which was lined by the Missouri River, a man went by, jogging. "Good morning!" I said to him heartily.

"Good morning sir," he replied with a friendly smile.

As I turned back to our little group, my son's mouth was agape and his pallor nearly ashen. He remarked in disbelief, "Dad, that guy you just spoke to was a colonel!"

I replied, "For you, he's a colonel. For me, he's a guy jogging."

I think he was jealous that I was called sir by one of his officers.