"Pentagon Rethinking Old Doctrine On 2 Wars"

Is the title of a recent New York Time's piece. For some reason when I read this, I couldn't shake the memory of an interaction that I had with a young customer while I was working at a bookstore a couple of years back. I was behind the cash register, and this kid comes up to the counter with three or four dungeons and dragons books, each costing somewhere between 20 and 40 dollars. The kid was probably fifteen or so.

I rang up the books, gave him the total in the mid to high 100's, and he opens his wallet and pulls out a ten dollar bill. He seems uncomfortable for a moment, looking at me, and then down at his 10, and then back at me. He says, 'hang on'. He runs over to the comic book rack and comes running back with two Batman comics.

"I think I'll just get these." He says.