A very nice thing happened to me and my family

[Sig_Des]

Sig_Des:  I, too, have had a free meal or two in Ottawa.

Haggis, it's really endearing IMO. It's not something you'd generally expect in a uni town like Ottawa, but It's happened a couple times, and it's always heartwarming.

I find just in the last couple of years, visible support is increasing here.

 

[HItorMiss]

I remember going out to breakfast the morning I left for 3-06 and while talking to Des and his then GF (good riddance to her) and my ex one patron payed our bill when it was over head that I was leaving in a few hours when the waitress asked me. It's a great feeling and that patron never even stuck around for a thank you or even let it known he had done it.

 

[geo]

I remember the dark old days when they were instructiong us to travel to & from work in civies

What a turnaround !

 

[Sig_Des]

I remember going out to breakfast the morning I left for 3-06 and while talking to Des and his then GF (good riddance to her) and my ex one patron payed our bill when it was over head that I was leaving in a few hours when the waitress asked me. It's a great feeling and that patron never even stuck around for a thank you or even let it known he had done it.

I remember that. That was really amazing on his part. I remember we told the waitress we would at least leave a tip, and she said "No, don't worry. He took care of EVERYthing."

 

[Haggis]

Haggis, it's really endearing IMO. It's not something you'd generally expect in a uni town like Ottawa, but It's happened a couple times, and it's allways heartwarming.

I find just in the last couple of years, visible support is increasing here.

Not just in Ottawa, Des.  Over the summer CF members were showcased and publicly acknowledged at events like the Spencerville "Veteran's Memorial Highland Games" Maxville's "Glengarry Highland Games" and the NASCAR Busch Series and Rolex Grand Prix races in Montreal.  I remember at last year's Maxville games, the CF was given centre stage during the opening ceremonies.

 

[Sig_Des]

Not just in Ottawa, Des.  Over the summer CF members were showcased and publicly acknowledged at events like the Spencerville "Veteran's Memorial Highland Games" Maxville's "Glengarry Highland Games" and the NASCAR Busch Series and Rolex Grand Prix races in Montreal.  I remember at last year's Maxville games, the CF was given centre stage during the opening ceremonies.

Seen. It's just that in the past, I've seen places that were a bit friendlier than Ottawa. Nice to see the changes across the board, though.

 

[211RadOp]

Although I missed out here is a heart warmer.

On this past Friday, a gentleman walked into the Tim's on Ontario St in Kingston with $100. He called the manager over and said,

"For the next half hour, anyone in green, this is for their coffee."

Just goes to show, there are still some out there even in Kingston.

 

[deedster]

Very cool ! 

 

[Harris]

Great stories.  I thought I'd share one of mine.

I was in Virginia in Feb and a bunch of went out for supper in our Cadpat with the Brigade Commander to celebrate a successful Ex.  We went to a local steak house and while eating and having a good time we noticed that a table a few down from us had a few well dressed business "types" having a few drinks and obviously having a good time.  About 3/4 of the way through our meal we were ordering another round of drinks (and there were about a dozen of us), when the server told us our drinks were on one of the gentlemen at the table we had noticed.  We accepted, and fortunately I had a pocket full of Brigade coins.  The Commander gave each of them one and it was as if we'd given them a medal or something.  They were very happy to receive them.

It was nice to have received gratitude, and also to have been able to repay it in kind.

 

[BootStrap]

Jesus, the same thing happened to me and a buddy of mine. Before parade we went down to a nearby pub to grab a bite to eat and have a couple of drinks. After we finish our meal, I go up to pay the bill (which was close to $38.00) only to find out that some nice gentleman paid our bill and tipped the waitress. Needless to say when I go and tell my buddy we were quite surprised and shocked at this very generous gesture, and not only that we had random people come up to us and shake our hands to say "thanks" makes you feel good to wear the uniform doesn't it ?

 

[geo]

There I was, standing at the checkout with a small grocery order.....
Me in my uniform & him in jeans & sweatshirt.  Fella waves to get my & cashier's attention and states that he wants to pay for my order!

I thanked him, gratefuly declined his offer - but suggesting that a contribution to the Support our soldier's fund - or something similar.

 

[bcbarman]

To keep the same thread going, I was at a restaurant in Yakima, WA.  Had the night off so one of my soldiers and I were out in Cadpat.  I noticed the booth in front of us kept saying "canada".  At the end of the dinner, we were told that the meal was on him.  Off came the Canadian flags on our shoulder and were presented to the table.  They were extatic.  From now on, I always carry 2 shoulder flags.

 

[MCpl Burtoo]

It is great to hear this stories, as I remember a time when we were told not to wear our uniform outside of working hours.....we were told not even to stop for gas in uniform..it didn't give you much pride! These gestures of gratitude are all so found out here in Alberta. I don't pay for many coffees when I am in uniform and when my wife ( she is military too) , the kids and I are out for dinner in the small town we live in (outside of Edmonton), we have had a meals paid for a couple of times (manager and  another patron). When we were out for the dinners, we had on a Regimental t-shirt or jacket to identify us, but we were not advertising nor did we say we were in the military. The folks out here pay attention to Regimental crests etc.  I found the people of Edmonton really behind there troop's..it is a nice feeling. We have even gotten discounts on items, without asking for them…….

 

[geo]

I must've had my nice face on last night.

Was trevelling home - waiting on a street corner when a fella walked past me without much of a second look....
He got +/- half a block away - then turned around, walked back up to me, offered his hand and said "thank you for all you've done".  After a smile and a nod, he turned around and continued on his way.....

Who woulda thought.... and in East end Montreal even 8)

There are some good people out there!

 

[Celticgirl]

I love these stories. My boyfriend had his uniform on a couple of weeks ago travelling from NB to NS. The guy at the toll booth took one look at the uniform, smiled, and waved him on.

I think that respect and support for our troops is at an all-time high now. It's great to see. 

 

[BDTyre]

I remember the dark old days when they were instructiong us to travel to & from work in civies

What a turnaround !

I wish...our CSM has instructed us to be very careful when travelling to and from the armouries.  In fact, due to a recent incident, anyone who takes public transportation has been given a locker and told to keep all their stuff at the armoury.

 

[geo]

I wish...our CSM has instructed us to be very careful when travelling to and from the armouries.  In fact, due to a recent incident, anyone who takes public transportation has been given a locker and told to keep all their stuff at the armoury.

What incident?  Have not heard anything at this end of the country.  Tell me more!

WRT keeping their stuff in a DND provided locker.... At the very least, make sure that they provide you with assurance that, if locker is broken into, they are responsible for the loss.

 

[Bigrex]

CanadianTire, I see by your profile that you live in Vancouver, so I am not surprised by your situation, as the majority of the more volatile peace freaks live in BC, Vancouver and Victoria mainly. In Victoria, my brother was put in hospital by several of the individuals because they were against the gulf war, and a friend of mine was stabbed several times in the forearm by another unbalanced person who didn't agree with war and violence, go figure. Personally I think it's the weather that drives them out there, they can hold anti-____ (fill in the blank here,  options : War, Bush, America, Government, free trade, pollution, other) rallies all year round without having to worry about freezing their arses off.

I think that it should be a federal crime to lay your hands on a soldier in a hostile manner, similar to the catch all "assault on a police officer" which bears more legal weight than your typical misdemeanor assault charge. iether that, or make it so the soldier can't be held responsible for sending someone to the hospital if they tried to assault them.

 

[geo]

Cheech!  And to think that people used to say that wearing military uniforms in Quebec was bad for your health!

 

[RTaylor]

Some great stories here.

I remember when I was in the reserves and I didn't have my liscense at the time...I was hitch-hiking to see my girlfriend (whom I'm now married to). I had my dufflebag in 1 arm, the brush cut and my ARMY t-shirt on. Got picked up and drove all the way to her door, was pretty nice.

And I thought that assaulting a member of the Canadian Armed Forces was the same/similar as assaulting a police officer, at least that's what we were told in Basic back in '98. Maybe it's a law in Nova Scotia or something.