Leigh, now in her golden years, educates a rude airport employee
*This is from my story about Bill Guarnere and my original character Leigh Spencer Guarnere, "I Double Dare You - A Rendezvous With Destiny."
*For hbowar secret Santa 25.
*Author's Note: An airport employee was exceedingly rude to Bill Guarnere in real life. I depicted their interacting with one another verbatim. The info came from a podcast interview with Bill's granddaughter. T.J. Guarnere in this story is Bill's granddaughter. I gave her a different name to protect her privacy. Bill really did keep money in his pockets as depicted for gambling in the casinos.* The airline actually upgraded Bill and his granddaughter to first class for their trip back to Philadelphia.*
Bill had been standing in line for a little over an hour. He was a little irritable due to the fact that he couldn't smoke while he stood in line and he knew the situation wouldn't improve on the flight because smoking wasn't permitted. Bill decided to make the best of it and try to not lose his temper.
A middle aged woman who worked with the device to scan the passengers' luggage noticed Bill's white satin jacket with Wild Bill Guarnere embroidered on the front, many patches for Easy Company and the Paratroopers division, plus 101st Airborne Association embroidered on the back.
She approached him,
"My husband and I enjoyed "Band of Brothers," Mr. Guarnere. Thanks for your service. Is there anything I can do to make you more comfortable? Would you like to sit down?"
"It was my pleasure. If it ain't too much trouble, I'd like to sit down. I don't need anythin' fancy. A foldin' metal chair would be fine." The woman got an extra chair from her work station and set it up for him.
Bill thanked her and she produced a pen and a piece of paper, shyly asking,
"Sir, may I have your autograph?"
He grinned,
"Sure thing, Doll. I'd be happy to give ya my autograph." He signed and dated the paper. The woman thanked him.
"It's been an honor to meet you, Mr. Guarnere." Leigh was smiling. She was accustomed to people wanting Bill's autograph and she knew how much he enjoyed meeting and talking to fans of the movie.
Another security check employee told him that if he wanted to remain seated for the security check, it was approved.
"I appreciate it, but don't make a fuss over me."
A young man in his early 30s who also worked in the security check area approached Bill saying that he would perform his security check. He added,
"I was in the Army, too. You're not that great." Leigh and T.J. were shocked by the behavior of this worker. Bill took it in stride.
"Whatever, Kid." Then, the security check employee wanted him to empty the pockets in his trousers. Bill always carried $1, $5 and $10 dollar bills in the right pocket of his trousers and $20 bills in the left pocket of his trousers. This was what he used on the slot machines and he called it his "wad."
"I just have money in both pockets. Do I have to take everythin' out? I don't wanna lose anythin'. "
The young man repeated his request. Guarnere tried to make light of the situation.
"It's just money, Kid. " The young man kept repeating his request. Both Leigh and Teresa noticed that the color of Bill's eyes seemed to change from brown to black. When Bill was extremely angry, his eye color seemed to change.
Teresa told Leigh,
"Grandpop's probably going to jail if he loses his temper. Do we have enough money for his bail? If we don't, I need to call Pop and get him to wire the money through Western Union."
"I don't think it will get out of hand, but I have extra money if the worst case scenario happens." By this time, a few passengers waiting in line had their cell phones out and they were recording the incident.
Bill had reached his saturation point, shouting,
"I told you, that's my wad you son of a bitch!" Still, the young man goaded him. Bill's anger increased and he shouted,
"What the fuck is wrong wit' you? I've told you a million times that I just have money in my pockets." Bill had his metal crutches propped against the chair. Suddenly, the young man picked up the crutches and threw them on the floor.
Leigh was infuriated and she told the onlookers,
"I hope you're getting this recorded." She asked the woman who helped Bill if she would please get the manager to come to the checkpoint area. The woman got out her cell phone and called the manager. Leigh then approached the young man.
"Your behavior is disgraceful! How dare you disrespect my husband like this! He's a legitimate, decorated war hero and he won two silver stars for bravery. Even an arrogant little bastard like you should know enough to respect his elders!
My husband lived through hellish situations that would make you wet your pants and scream like a little girl. You pick up those crutches and hand them to me, pronto!"
The manager arrived and several people in line told him what happened and showed him the videos they made of the incident. Meanwhile, the security check employee grudgingly picked up the crutches and handed them to Leigh.
She thanked him, adding,
"Now, you need to apologize to my husband." He sneered at Leigh,
"Don't hold your breath, grandma. Just let me do my job." Bill told T.J.,
"Your nonna is gettin' ready to hand that kid's ass to him on a platter. Her temper is locked an' loaded." Leigh then told the young man,
"Excuse me, your shoe is untied." The instant he bent over, Leigh swung one of the crutches with gusto, hitting his behind. He promptly face planted on the floor. Bill and T.J. laughed loudly.
"That's for disrespecting my husband and me, you little shit! I had another worker call the manager. If you don't come with me to discuss this situation, so help me God, I'll take you by your ear and drag you there!" Leigh walked back to join T.J. and Bill.
The manager walked over to speak with Bill and Leigh. Glowering, the employee stood up, taking care to stay out of Leigh's reach. Then, the manager told Leigh that the rude employee was terminated, effective immediately. He also said that Leigh and her family would be upgraded to first class with the airline picking up the tab for their trip home. Leigh thanked the manager for his help.
Meanwhile, the young man acted embarrassed as the other passengers laughed at him getting an impromptu spanking from Wild Bill Guarnere's wife. The manager then told the employee that he was fired. Bill told Leigh,
"That's my sassy angel! You can still kick ass, Baby, an' I'm proud of ya." Bill Teresa and Leigh laughed about the incident as they rode home on the plane. He softly repeated,
"Make you wet your pants an' scream like a little girl," he chuckled. "That was perfect, Baby. Some things never change. You still have the feisty spark that I love."
WHATS UP it's me, your secret santa, back again for my court mandated conversation (kidding.)
it took me forever, but i think i have an idea of what i'm going to do now!! of course i cant spoil it too much, but speirs will be involved. as i'm thinking about how to go about this, whats your favorite thing to see from speirs? of course we all love him because he is amazing. but like. for you personally.
(and of COURSE i have to ask how you are liking/liked jurassic park. i personally think the novel is far more deranged than the movie)
Omg!! Hi!!! Glad to hear from you :D
Now as for what I like to see in Speirs.. I'd say the fact that he's a very emotionally distant dude, especially during the war, so him doing a gesture (like gifting you something he stole, like the magpie he is 💀), even if it's something small, is HUGE. It just shows he cares and wants to impress you. It also shows that he has a sweetspot for you 😼😼😼
NOW I know I put down I'd also take moodboards/wallpapers so if that's the gift you're doing, I'd say Spiers with his cigarette. I'd never, ever, ever, EVER smoke, but Spiers looks badass when he's doing it. So much aura.
I hope this answered your Spiers' ask!! If not, send another ask and I'll 100% answer!!!
NOW about JP; I LOVED the book. It was so surreal. Definitely mind-boggling and wayyy different than the first movie. I absorbed that book because it was sooooo good. I could not get enough of it. That was my first time reading something so.. gruesome?? Idk. I don't read anything scary. But I LOVED it. I definitely started loving Ian Malcolm by the end, just because of his whole Chaos Theory he talked about. Hated John Hammond for being a selfish prick. But yeah, that whole book was crazy good. 11/10 would recommend to EVERYONE.
