Four strangers travelled together in the same compartment of a
European train. Two men and two women faced each other.
One woman was a very wealthy and sophisticated 70 year old lady who
was decked out in the finest of furs and jewelry. Next to her sat a
beautiful young woman, nineteen yrs. old--who looked like something
right off the cover of a fashion magazine. Across from the older
lady was a very mature looking man in his mid-forties who was a highly
decorated Sergeant Major in the Army. And next to the Sergeant
Major sat a young private fresh out of boot camp.
As these four strangers travelled, they talked and chatted about
trivial things until they entered an unlighted tunnel, and there they
sat in complete darkness and total silence, until the sound of a
distinct kiss broke the silence; following the kiss a loud slap could
be heard throughout the cabin.
In the ensuing period of silence the four strangers sat quietly with
their own thoughts. The older lady was thinking, "Isn't it wonderful
that even in this permissive day and age there are still young women
who have a little self-respect and dignity?"
The young woman, shaking her head and greatly puzzled, asked
herself, "Why in the world would any man in his right mind want to
kiss an old fossil like that when I'm sitting here?"
The Sergeant Major, rubbing his sore face, was outraged that any
woman could ever think that a man in his position would try to sneak a
kiss in the dark.
And the private, grinning from ear to ear, was thinking, "What a
crazy and mixed up world this is when a private can kiss the back of his
hand and then smack a Sergeant Major in the face and get away
with it!"