NaBloPoMo

Well, it’s supposedly National Blog Posting Month and I’ve registered my blog because it sounded fun. It’s summer, it’s hot, and my schedule is emptier than the devil’s soul. Which is where the catch comes in: joining NaBloPoMo means that you should try to blog at least once  a day. The optional theme is heroes. So here I go…

The last time I saw a war veteran, I was heart broken. He was out on Capitol Expressway, unshaven, and holding up a ragged cardboard sign asking for money. He was a Vietnam War veteran. He lost it all fighting for the country that I came from. He probably came back to an America that was cold and treated him like a leper. With advances in media, the Vietnam War became one of the most unpopular wars ever fought by the United States. Fueled by pictures of burning monks and burning planes, the public became more and more hostile towards yet another war to thwart the communist movement.

And here I am sitting in the car with FM radio and air conditioning at a cool seventy degrees. It’s over one hundred outside. So what could I do? I gave him five dollars. He smiled at me and all I could do was nod back, wishing I could give more. If I had time (and the guts), I might’ve bought him a sandwich and cold Starbucks and ask him about his platoon, his experience, and what it was like.

  Good luck war vets, this country’s true heroes.