Boomer upset that I won't buy him dinner

Boomer Story

First post here, so hopefully I don't overstep any boundaries.

I took my youngest to a pizza buffet today as it was just the two of us for dinner. We sat down to eat and happened to be near the front register. I was generally aware of families at some nearby tables, but I wasn't paying much attention to anyone.

I saw an elderly man with a WW2 veteran hat waiting behind a larger group that was paying. He looked the part of someone 95+ years old, and him going to a pizza buffet made me think of my 99-year old grandma. One of the young ladies that was sharing register/table cleaning duties was walking through. I waved her over and asked if I could give her a $20 to pay for the elderly man's meal (and be anonymous) and the change could be kept. It seemed like a nice thing to do and I didn't mind it costing more as I wasn't looking for attention.

Enter the Boomer. An older man at the next table is turning in his chair and appears to be waving at me. I look over and after making eye contact he asks if I would be paying for his meal too. I thought he was joking, but he didn't appear to be. The fact that he was in a group of maybe eight people and had already paid and sat down before me didn't appear to be an issue.

I was at a loss for words as my brain was stalled in the processing stage. He continued to just state at me for a few seconds until what appeared to be a granddaughter started to move over to his lap and he looked away. I seized the moment and suggested to my daughter that we could go back to the buffet. The Boomer gave me a few looks until his group eventually left.

The first elderly man appeared to be a bit touched at someone paying for his meal. He couldn't have eaten much as he ate and left before us, but it was all good.

in BoomersBeingFoolsby NameToUseOnReddit

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Debfromcorporate

460

I worked for a boomer that would go to Branson, MO every year for Veterans Day week. He would wear his ball cap so everyone could see that he is a veteran and at every restaurant they ate at he would sit until someone paid for his meal. He made 6 figures and people that live paycheck to paycheck were paying for his meals.

CraZKchick

210

Sounds a lot like stolen valor.

Debfromcorporate

162

He actually did serve and was a POW for awhile. He was one of those combinations of needing admiration and cheap. Even though he had money, if he could get something free he was happy. He had a closet full of crappy swag when he retired because if it was free he would take one or 3.

lokis_construction

108

I hate people that make a big deal out of their service. Also I have encountered more stolen valor than I ever care to see. I ask them what unit they were with, where the served and what their MOS was. When they have to engage brain to try to come up with anything real it is funny as hell. Let me google your unit and it's deployment and they shut up fast.

Fucking liars.

eat-the-cookiez

It’s a very US thing imho. I read these stories and nothing like this goes on in Australia.

No “thank you for your service” stuff from random people. We have a govt veterans card for discounts, same for seniors.

throwaway_reasonx

The military service between my Aussie family and American family is so polar opposite in terms of talking about it.

7Fontaine7

-22

There are more active US marines than the whole Australian defense force.

anonymus_the_3rd

I don’t think that’s the point lol

julzie14

Some people have said it to my husband and he hates people saying it. He did 12 years in the Australian Army but never went overseas, he did a job and was paid for it, he doesn't need special thanks for it. It's rare for an Aussie to want that kind of attention anyway.

Gold-Carpenter7616

My husband did 12 years in Germany. They cut him down from 14, because of the length of his service, he basically got two years discount on service.

Middle-Hour-2364

Same in the UK, yeah I'm a veteran of the first gulf war, I have no reason to bang on about it, I didn't do it for anyone else, going in the forces was a career decision because I don't want to go work in the local plastics factory and be stuck in the same poncey little farming town for the rest of my life

PassengerNo1233

I was navy, MOS artificer’s mate, then an armorer for the marines on board. It was the best time I had on board.

Elle2NE1

My grandfather was a vet. Had a hat, went to the VFW on the regular, but wasn’t out for the attention. He just wanted the camaraderie of his fellow vets. Only talked about the war once with me and that took a lot of effort.

CaraAsha

Both my grandpa's served, one as a coroner, and one as infantry. Big difference in their types of service and their response. My grandpa that was infantry was front lines in Korea and wouldn't talk about it ever. My Grandpa that was a coroner did talk sometimes but mostly about the culture of the country that he was in .