I was on board the USS Kitty Hawk when we docked in the Sri Lankan capital, Colombo.

One morning, as the local fishing fleet passed by on its way out to sea, a boat came too close to our ship. A Marine held up a sign warning the captain to stay away, and he complied.

But the next day, the boat was back. This time, the fisherman held something. The nervous Marine pointed to his rifle. The fisherman lifted the object and unfurled it, revealing a sign of his own.

In perfect English it read, "Your Sign Is Upside Down."