The back room of the diner was packed today
Everyone was in attendance
I had expected no less
They all stood when I walked into the room
Several nodded their heads at me
"Good morning, General"
I wasn't used to that yet
But someone has to lead
Take the blame when it all goes wrong
Take the blame when it all goes right
Either way, I'm the man
I sit up at one end of the square arrangement of tables
Our waitress walks in the middle of the tables
Pouring coffee, being gawked at
Her short skirt giving an imaginary glimpse of heaven
I smiled at her
She was my best friend's daughter
She was one of us
Breakfast was served
Always cooked with excellence
Men around the tables talking amongst themselves
Some about their unit assignments
A couple texting last minute orders to the men in the field
Everyone had their mind on the business at hand
I glanced at my tablet
Almost all the units had checked in so far
Only shy Alaska and Hawaii to complete the fifty
Hawaii was going to be the toughest
Being in such a different time zone
We'd had to make smaller four man teams
And send them out to homes
To collect our targets
I still had a nagging feeling that we should have done that with all the states
On that point I had to concede
That if we wanted maximum impact
The initial blow had to be broadcast live
And it had to be seen by as many people as possible
For that, they had to be awake
I cracked my knuckles
Popping a few stress bubbles in the process
The last two units checked in
My tablet screen turned green
I stood up and regarded the map on the wall behind my chair
Colored pins marking certain places
Faces associated with those pins flashed through my head
Little flags off one pin in each state had a little name flag on it
I'd allowed the Unit commanders to choose their own code names
Some chose something associated with the state they were in charge of
Others chose something from movies
Others......I have no idea why they chose what they chose
The first time I contacted the man I now had to call "Mr. Pink"
I had had a hard time not laughing when I said it
But the next time I call upon the Commander of Florida
I won't be laughing
This is no laughing matter
It was just after eight in the morning
I turned to the group of coordinators
All watching me quietly now
Assorted devices in front of each of them
Their tools of armed rebellion in this age
"Give them the go"
Everyone was in attendance
I had expected no less
They all stood when I walked into the room
Several nodded their heads at me
"Good morning, General"
I wasn't used to that yet
But someone has to lead
Take the blame when it all goes wrong
Take the blame when it all goes right
Either way, I'm the man
I sit up at one end of the square arrangement of tables
Our waitress walks in the middle of the tables
Pouring coffee, being gawked at
Her short skirt giving an imaginary glimpse of heaven
I smiled at her
She was my best friend's daughter
She was one of us
Breakfast was served
Always cooked with excellence
Men around the tables talking amongst themselves
Some about their unit assignments
A couple texting last minute orders to the men in the field
Everyone had their mind on the business at hand
I glanced at my tablet
Almost all the units had checked in so far
Only shy Alaska and Hawaii to complete the fifty
Hawaii was going to be the toughest
Being in such a different time zone
We'd had to make smaller four man teams
And send them out to homes
To collect our targets
I still had a nagging feeling that we should have done that with all the states
On that point I had to concede
That if we wanted maximum impact
The initial blow had to be broadcast live
And it had to be seen by as many people as possible
For that, they had to be awake
I cracked my knuckles
Popping a few stress bubbles in the process
The last two units checked in
My tablet screen turned green
I stood up and regarded the map on the wall behind my chair
Colored pins marking certain places
Faces associated with those pins flashed through my head
Little flags off one pin in each state had a little name flag on it
I'd allowed the Unit commanders to choose their own code names
Some chose something associated with the state they were in charge of
Others chose something from movies
Others......I have no idea why they chose what they chose
The first time I contacted the man I now had to call "Mr. Pink"
I had had a hard time not laughing when I said it
But the next time I call upon the Commander of Florida
I won't be laughing
This is no laughing matter
It was just after eight in the morning
I turned to the group of coordinators
All watching me quietly now
Assorted devices in front of each of them
Their tools of armed rebellion in this age
"Give them the go"
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