at work today

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I stopped to ask the security guard about the book he was reading. It was a book about the history of Black soldiers in the U.S. military.

I asked him if he had been in the service.

He said, "Yes, 22 years, two wars...Korea....and Viet Nam."

I asked him if he felt Korea was a "forgotten war."

He frowned and replied, "You know, too many people died for it to be forgotten. But, yes, our country wasn't ready for it. We were just coming out of the last war. Folks weren't behind it...like today."

At this, he paused and sized me up.

"I don't like what's going on today. Too many good kids have died. Too many kids are amputees." He motioned to both his arms and chopped them at the elbows. "Folks don't know what that's like. Most amputees never get a good job, never really recover. You can't know that if you haven't seen it."

He paused again, and looked me in the eye.

"I agree with this woman down there in Texas. She's right. We should bring those kids home right now."

At that, my co-worker caught up to me...I nodded to the guard, and he back at me...and I stepped inside.

Comments

Unknown said…
Awesome stuff. I'm glad that Cindy's message is making its way across the country from water-cooler to water-cooler. It's amazing what the Truth can do huh?
7:07 PM
NYBri said…
Stories from the front lines of reality.
9:02 PM
Anonymous said…
Loved that story. It reminds me very much of something Meteor Blades said about generational anti-war stances: they've always been varied from the very poltically involved, to soldiers, to people with soldiers in their family, mothers, sisters, brothers, uncles, and people who relate to a woman who just wants to know why this cause was noble...

Cathy
9:11 PM
Anonymous said…
Thanks for that story, it means so much.
1:33 PM
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