It might have gone unnoticed, had not a local reporter gone to the commissary at Walter Reed Hospital this afternoon. He quickly phoned his editor to report that he had seen General Stanley McChrystal bagging groceries and asking customers if they wanted, "Paper or plastic?"
It appeared to the reporter that few, if any, of the shoppers knew that the "bagger" was the General. "He did seem kind of old for a bagger," said the journalist. "He looked like the kind of guy that only eats one meal a day and sleeps only four hours a night. You know, intense!"
In a quick follow-up by the editors at the paper, it was learned that General McChrystal had been given three options by The Commander in Chief. One: Do latrine and KP duty at Fort Dix until the war is over. Two: Take the "bagger" assignment at Walter Reed until the war is over. Three: Assume duties of chauffeur and "body man" for Vice President Joe Biden, until the war or this administration is over. Sources inside the White House report McChrystal replied sharply to the President,"I'll take plastic and paper over wind."
In a follow up, the journalist returned to Walter Reed to interview the General for a feature article. It was then he noticed that since he had last seen McChrystal, someone had placed packing tape over his mouth. When the reporter spotted him, he was holding up a plastic bag and a paper bag to a shopper. It seemed he was asking with his eyes, "plastic or paper?"
