This is about a visit to a VA hospital. I am pretty sure that this little story happened in the summer of 1961.
My father had recently retired from the Huntington, West Virginia VA Hospital. And, for whatever reason, he had to see them.
I was home on leave from the Air Force and Dad asked me if I wanted to go with him. The hospital is on the extreme far end of the other side of town, and is was a very long bus ride, so I went with Dad.
When we arrived, Dad went to wherever and I went to the coffee shop.
I bought some coffee, and then I remembered I was running low on tax-free cigarettes, and I was at a VA installation. So I asked the man for a couple of cartons of Lucky Strike cigarettes.
The man informed me that he couldn’t sell tax-free cigarettes to civilians, which was absolutely correct.
I said, “Hold on, I’m in the Air Force and home on leave.” I then showed him my ID.
He, of course, sold the cigarettes to me.
That, in itself, isn’t much of a story. But what happened next, was. At least to me.
Sitting at a table just in back of me were three old men, and they heard the conversation.
When I say, “old men,” they looked very old to me. Remember, I was only 22. On top of that, my father was 67 but his appearance belied his age; he looked to be a much younger man. I assumed they were World War I veterans, as was my father.
That hospital had many older veterans, some who rarely saw either friends or family. When the three old men heard I was on active duty, they were almost desperate to talk with me. They wanted to have a conversation with a young man on active duty. They wanted me to tell them about how things were now. And, I am sure, it made them conjure up memories of when they were young and on active duty. I heard a couple of good stories.
The four of us talked, laughed, drank coffee, and smoked cigarettes for at least an hour.
Now, 60 years later, I couldn’t tell you what the old men looked like or what we talked about. But I remember the event. For a short period, I gave three old men a bit of joy and happiness, and all I did was talk and listen. It is something I shall always remember.
I sure am glad I needed to buy cigarettes that day.
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