The dude with the pimply face

Okay, now that I'm in a red poppy mood again, I'll tell you about the chat I had with a teenaged kid on the subway way back on December 13th.

I'm sitting there, minding my own business, when this kid starts staring at me. You know when someone's staring at you, you can feel their eyes boring a hole into your head.

So, I'm sitting there and I glance up at the kid. He looked no more than 16, when he said to me, "Dude, you're still wearing your poppy."

"Yup, I know," I say.

"Why?"

"Well, I choose to remember all year 'round. That's why I wear my poppy."

There was a pause, a pregnant silence. The kid looked away, raised his eyebrow, then looked back at me.

In a voice that's reminiscent of Napoleon Dynamite, the kid says:

"Dude, just carry a flag."

I looked at him. He looked at me. I looked at him looking at me. He looked at me looking at him.

I had nothing to say. Next stop was mine anyways, so I just stood up and waiting in the doors until the train came to a stop. When the doors flew open, I jumped out with the kid's last words replaying in my mind.

"Dude, just carry a flag."
"Dude, just carry a flag."
"Dude, just carry a flag."

As I was going up the escalator to street level, I snapped my fingers because I just thought of the perfect comeback.

"Well, a flag's too big, dude."

I smiled at myself, thinking that was an awesome comeback. But alas, the best comeback's are always thought of after you've removed yourself from the situation. And by then, it's just too late.

So the pimply-faced dude actually got the last word. And I still wear my red poppy.