The first message was from the president, a quotation from the inimitable Winston Churchill, ending with “well done.” Freeman smiled at the vicissitudes of life: After Priest Lake he was a “bum” now he was a “hero.” Good.
The second message was from the State Department, furious that he’d linked the term “Hamas” with “scumbags.” Hamas, Foggy Bottom reminded him, also served as a “charitable arm” to the Palestinians, and the general’s use of scumbag in connection with it was “unnecessarily inflammatory and an affront to all Muslims.”
Freeman screwed the message into a tiny ball, handing it to the consular official. “Round file this, will you?”
The consular official informed him that scores of congratulations were pouring in but that there was one message from home he might like to see immediately. The consular official was right. It was from Margaret:
Cannot work new DVD player. Will you help?
A damsel in distress.