51°f/10°C, cloudy but dry.
Much cooler days are such a relief! I have been so enjoying the lack of humidity; the lack of rain, not so much.
Yesterday Larry had another doctor appointment, this one at the Veterans clinic in Charleston. The nurse discussed the xrays taken last week of his hands, which can be quite painful, and said it is caused by arthritis. Poor guy. Years of being a bricklayer have taken their toll. New meds are on the way and should help.
It is always interesting to talk to the old vets at these places. I always come away humbled and frankly, embarrassed by my reasonably good health. It is not unusual to see young men missing limbs, limping or in wheelchairs.
One man, a little younger than me, looked fit but carried an oxygen bottle. He was a happy guy though, saying that until he retired he had never been sick, but since retirement has had 10 surgeries. He said, "Last time I was here for a urine test it gave me a black eye!" If course someone asked him how that happened? "Well," he said, "the nurse told me to pee in a cup and I told her to fart in a bottle, and she hit me!" He sure made everyone laugh with that one.
Another man, who said he was 78, was quite bent and using a cane as he walked ynsteadily down the hall. I had heard him say earlier that his car had quit running and he couldn't afford to fix it, so he had to rely on friends and VA transport to get to his appointments. Even so, he was quite cheerful. Later I overheard him talking on his cell to a friend named Wayne. (It was impossible not to hear him, as ge had quite a loud voice.) They had a lively discussion of the past evening's church service, then the old man asked Wayne if he had been able to get any food from the freezer food giveaway that morning. No, Wayne said. The lines were so long they ran out of food.
"I'll be all right," the old man said. "I'm out of money, and I don't have anything in my fridge, but I've got canned food and I'll get by. My check should come Friday, and maybe you could take me to the store then." He went back to talking about church, wondered if there was another giveaway they could get to, but apparently not.
That conversation touched me to the core. No car, limited physical mobility, no food, and no money til Friday, and yet he smiled at everyone passing. I checked my wallet. There was $30 in there, so you know what I did, and the walked away quickly. I sure didn't want that poor old guy thanking me in his loud voice!
When I told Larry he was not really happy that I had given the money away, and told me "you can't fix the world." No, but I could help with this one thing. And later he agreed that I did the right thing; he had overheard the old guy when he was back on the phone to Wayne. "You won't believe this, but a lady appeared out of nowhere and just gave me $30! When you pick me up we can go to the store! It's a miracle!"
Well, no miracle. We had had a surprise reimbursement last week of some money from years ago. And here was this old veteran with no food in his fridge. I am pretty sure you would have done exactly the same thing in my place. We will not miss that money, but it made a difference to him.
Then yesterday, another vet, who has been in a wheelchair, he saud, for 23 years. He had been crossing a street in Charleston in his chair when he was hit by a car. The "walk" signal was on, and the light was red. The driver claimed he never saw the man in the wheelchair.
Fortunately the vet wasn't hurt too badly, but his motorized wheelchair was destroyed. Now he is fighting the car insurance company to get his chair replaced and compensation for his pain and trauma. No lawyer will take the case, he said, because it wouldn't be lucrative enough. What a sad, sad commentary on the legal profession! He took was dependent on VA transport, and had been waiting an hour and a half for his ride home. They pulled in just as we were talking, thank goodness.
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