Oh, the People You'll Meet

Oh, the people you'll meet, there will be cowards and killers among them and you'll never know. We walk through life, every single one of us, running into people that could kill us without hesitation or even breaking a sweat. That is a fact, a fact that has served me well all through my time in the Marine Corps, as I learned to be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everyone I met.There are hundreds of veterans returning from war who blend in with your everyday average civilian. There are old men who shuffle around now, but in their heyday killed scores of Nazis or Viet Cong. You may not realize who you're dealing with. Whether it's a young kid or an old man, don't underestimate the people you'll meet.This truth was illustrated to me at a very young age. Before I even thought of enlisting in the Marine Corps or assaulting the streets of Iraq. I met a man who was not physically impressive save for the fact that he was in great shape. He wasn't sporting gigantic python biceps or a chiseled Adonis-like physique, he was merely in good physical shape. The man did his calisthenics, did some weight lifting, but never allowed himself to be pigeonholed in as a runner or weightlifter. I go into detail on all of this to ensure that you realize that this man was quite ordinary and plain to the naked eye. However...There aren't many people I've ever met as potentially deadly as this man. Details about his life, at this point, are unnecessary and take away from our main point. The point is that you'd never know all that this man was capable of from looking at him. From putting rounds on target to breaking your body with his hands, you'd never assume that the short but stout grey haired man could absolutely wreck your world without hesitation if he needed.He didn't though. He didn't walk around with an ego because he knew that as badass as he was, there were two forces of nature and the universe working against him. The first being that there is always someone bigger and badder than you and the second is that people get lucky. Therefore he walks politely, he talks politely, he is humble and he doesn't go looking for trouble. Why? Because even he, who is probably the baddest man I know, doesn't know everything about everyone he meets.In closing, you shouldn't walk around afraid, to hell with that. Timidness is for the weak. However, having some insight and a recognition of the fact there are people in this world who are better prepared, better armed and more prone to killing you than you are to them is not a bad fact to recognize. It may just save your ass.Oh, the people you'll meet may be able to kill you with ease, but don't give them a reason to. Be polite, be professional, but...