Tax day—April 15—was looming when an elderly woman showed up at my desk at the IRS. She said she required a thick stack of tax forms. “Why so many?” I asked. “My son is stationed overseas,” she said. “He asked me to pick up forms for the soldiers on the base.” “You shouldn't have to do this,” I told her. “It's the base commander's job to make sure that his troops have access to the forms they need.” “I know,” said the woman. “I'm the base commander's mother.”
報稅的日子4月15日快到了。一個老婦人來到我在國稅局的辦公桌前。她說她需要一厚打報稅表格。我問:“為什么要這么多?”她說:“我的兒子在海外駐軍。他讓我替基地的士兵們拿表格。”我告訴她說:“你不需要這么做。這是基地司令官的職責,保證他的部隊有他們需要的表格?!崩蠇D人說:“我知道。我就是基地司令官的媽。”