A PEBBLE IN HIS SHOE:

The following post will be pretty expletive-laden (I typed it in the speaker's vernacular, though)...but that's the real world I live and work in.  The expletives actually made it a funny interaction, though.  I hope you enjoy.

I'm approached by a big Marine named Justin this afternoon after we had each finished lunch at the same restaurant.  Justin talks with a heavy Boston-Italian-esqe accent, and he's a thick dude (aka, muscular).  He approaches and we have the following conversation:

Justin: "Did you serve?"
Me: "No."
Justin: "I was a foakin' Marine, and I'm all about the militawy and foakin' police and shet."
Me: "Have you considered a career as an officer?"
Justin: "Nah, I foakin' like what I do, but you guys are the foakin' shet."

Justin continues...

J: "I've got a buddy who foakin' complained to me that he got a foakin' ticket from the foakin' caps (that's cops in Boston-Italian).  So I told him, 'yeah, so foakin' what!  It's probably because that foakin' cop just got done lookin' at a foakin' dead guy and shet.'  I mean hey, troopah, you goys got it foakin' tough cuz you never know what some foakin' asehole might do.  I got foakin' buddies who are caps and they do the foakin' death stare and are all cynical and shet."
Me: "I hear ya, some guys can get that way.  But I'll tell you what Justin, if I didn't have Jesus Christ in my life, I can't imagine where I'd be."

As I'm saying this, big Justin is sucking the pop through the straw poking out of what looks like a tiny cup in his big hands, his gigantic arms are protruding to the sides, and he simultaneously gave me the thumbs-up coupled with a head nod.

Justin finished drinking, swallowed, nodded again and toned his voice down a half notch,
J: "Yeah, man. If I didn't have God, I'd be totally dead right now.  I'd probably be a mercenawy or somethin'."

At this point, Justin rolls up his sleeve and shows me a Jerusalem Cross (pictured above) on his monstrous shoulder.  We finished our polite conversation, each retreating to our respective vehicles.  I closed the door and literally laughed out loud. 

I thought to myself, "Well, at least I left him with a pebble in his shoe."