A Night at the Opera

by Brian Harper

The same night that Phil Luoni and I were on leave in Tokyo (see story), Puccini's opera, Madame Butterfly, was being presented at the Ernie Pyle Theatre. So we arrived and took our seats. At that time Phil was a Sergeant and I was a lowly Corporal. As we waited for curtain fall etc, I was aware of a somewhat largish body taking a seat beside me. I looked to my left. What did I see? An Indian Brigadier, resplendent in his uniform with crown and three pips. Plus red braid.

Dialogue:
Us ... Good evening, Sir.
Good evening, boys, I see you are from NZ.
Yes, Sir.
(When the opera was over)
Brigadier ... Nice to see you boys.
Us ... Thank you, Sir.
And we shook hands Goodnight.

Brian Harper, 2001