Sunday Night Dinner

Hello folks,
I just wanted to fill you in on a little Sunday night tradition we have here in *********. (Censored for your and my protection. ;-)) On Sunday nights we close up shop at about 1730. (That's 5:30 pm in civilianese.) Anyway we close up shop and drive to the to the other side of the base. Of course I spend much of my day driving so that's nothing special, but we go to the chow hall right behind the 3rd Infantry Division HQ. (very BIG Head Shed.) There we walk into the show hall and grab our plate and plastic forks and whatnot. Then we approach the food line. The first thing you see is the carving station. "Prime rib, medium well please." (Mike Guzzi gets about 2 pounds.) On down the line you see Alaskan King crab legs. Not these little dainty things, but these 20 inch long monster crab legs. "Can I have two, pretty please?!?!?!" They gesture for my tray... one crab leg, two crab leg, three crab leg, four crab leg...... I'm starting to get alarmed. I'm doubting whether or not I am sufficiently hungry, so I wave off the the fifth crab leg being piled onto my tray. Then it's onto the salad bar for a salad of fresh romaine, not so fresh cucumbers, and all the other fixings.
The walls of this place are covered with college flags from everywhere. Oh, there's Georgia Tech, right up there in front. There are large plasma screen TV's hanging from every wall. And the sound of live music drifts through a set of exit doors.
So after pondering such things as drink choice, whether or not I should get desert now or later, speaking of which, what am I going to eat for desert? There is the pastry display with all manner of cakes, cookies, and pies. There is a Baskin & Robbins Ice Cream counter. There's even a deli sandwich counter for those who know they need a midnight snack, or lunch the next day.
So I wonder outside, and what do I see? Patio seating, with a small stage and a band of army guys playing Jazz. There are palm trees and a shade structure under which many tables are placed.
I'm thinking, "What's going on here? Is this a war zone? Or did I just step into the TwilightZone?
So this is going to be our Sunday night thing. We, Mike and I, are going to knock off early and go to dinner to sit, relax, and eat like pigs, errr I meant soldiers.
So I beg of you, please keep me in your thoughts as I endure the hardships of a long and arduous deployment in a wartorn country.

Have a great Seabee day!
~Josh