It was a dark and stormy night. The new Sailor was on his first assignment — guard duty.
A Captain stepped outside, taking his dog for a walk. The nervous young Seaman snapped to attention, made a perfect salute, and snapped out, “Good Evening, Sir!”
The Captain, out for some relaxation, returned the salute. “Good evening, Seaman. Nice night, isn’t it?”
Well… it wasn’t a nice night, but the Sailor wasn’t going to disagree with the Captain, so the he saluted again and replied, “Yes, Sir!”
The Captain continued, “You know there’s something about a stormy night that I find soothing. It’s very relaxing. Wouldn’t you agree?”
The Seaman didn’t agree, but since he was just a lowly Sailor, he responded, “Yes, Sir!”
The Captain pointed at his dog. “This is a Golden Retriever, the best type of dog to train.”
The Seaman glanced at the dog, saluted yet again and said, “Yes, Sir!”
The Captain continued. “I got this dog for my wife.”
The Seaman simply replied, “Good trade, Sir!”
… And that’s how you get out of guard duty.