title explained

Onward and upward! something that you say in order to encourage someone to forget an unpleasant experience or failure and to think about the future instead and move forward.

My e-mail: jjmiller6213@comcast.net

Saturday, June 4, 2016

Migration Time, Vets and Old People

A lot of us olders have our Social Security benefit hit our checking accounts on the 3rd of every month.  Which causes us to emerge from our homes, get on the road out in front and head to the Walmart, like a migrating herd of buffalo!  I was in that parade yesterday.  Some of us heading west to the Walmart, some, with higher SS benefits, headed west to the Meijer store.

The speed limit on the road is 50 mph.  I got behind an old guy who was driving 43--in the left inside, passing lane.  GEEZ LOUISE.  Cars were pulling out behind me to pass us and as soon as it was clear, I did the same and then pulled back quickly in front of him.  

People!  You are in your car.  The car is moving!  You are driving!  Pay attention to what you are doing!
<seems like the only time I yell anymore is when I am inside my car, migrating with idiot drivers>

When I got to Walmart, I started up one of the parking lanes to find a spot.  There was an old woman who thought she had to drive the entire length, in the middle of that lane.  If I had pulled over to the right any farther, I would have clipped parked car bumpers, so...I just stopped and let her maneuver her way around me.

Into the store, same scenario.  Why do people have to park their cart in the middle of the aisle?

My highlight of the day--heck the whole week?  As I walked to the back of the store, there was a man refilling water bottles at the water station.  He was a VietNam vet.  How could I tell?  He looked like he was headed to a military conference.  His cap announced his status, as well as his T-shirt, along with a red, white and blue cane with a field of stars on it.

Since my mother never taught me not to talk to strangers, I walked up next to him and said,
"I like your cane."

"I bought it right here in this store."

There was s short fuzzy tail of some misfortunate animal hanging from the handle.

"That's not a squirrel tail is it?"

"Nope.  Bob Cat.  I kilt it myself.  In da UP."

"Cool."

"Yep--a man always gotta have a little piece a tail with him."

"Even at your age."

"Especially at my age!"

All during this exchange, he had not once looked at me, concentrating on filling the water jugs.  Not once did he smile.

"Well, I want to thank you for your service.  I was in college while you were over there keeping it real for me."

"Yes Ma'am."

"I really do appreciate all you did."

"Thank ya, Ma'am."

and with that, I walked off.

"A man always gotta have a little piece a tail with him."  I've been laughing ever since!
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Merle is doing a 5K Parkinson's walk Sunday!  His daughter Marge talked him into it.  Pearl is going too--in a wheelchair, that Merle is going to push for the 3+ miles.

  He and I were talking about it.  "You gotta keep moving," he said.

"I wish we could convince Pearl of that fact."

"She won't do it.  Won't even walk anymore.  Just sits in that damn chair of hers, getting fatter and fatter."

"I know she's in pain, but.............."

"She's in pain because she won't move!  The less she moves, the more pain, the less she can move!"

"I've tried to tell her that."

"Know you have."

"She told me two years ago that she was going to be in a wheelchair.  It seemed she had made up her mind then, so.........................."

"She's given up."

"Has she always been so stubborn?"

"Yup.  Ever since I known her.  She makes up her mind about sumpthin and there's no changing it."

"Well, I'm glad you never gave up!"

"Never will,  Gotta keep moving!"
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John stopped in later and we had a nice porch chat.  I told him about the VietNam vet.

John said, "I know a lot of guys like that.  They wear their gear all the time.  We get together for coffee and that's all they talk about.  It's like VietNam was the only experience they ever had in their entire lives.  They don't talk about their wives or their kids.  I get sick of listening to them.  There's more to life than a few years in VietNam!"

John was a Marine and served in Nam for a couple of years.  He talks about it, but his are all stories of funny things that happened.  He makes it sound like China Beach and the Mekong Delta was a two year vacation.  The only T-shirt I've ever seen him wear is one with a Marine Corp insignia stenciled on the front.

I think John has a much healthier attitude than some?

8 comments:

  1. You're right about John having a healthier attitude. There is a bar around here that Vietnam vets have been going since the came home from the war. Many are alcoholics by now, I'm sure. A lot of those guys were never able to put that experience behind them. Don worked with one of those guys and that's all he talked about.

    I had an experience on my day trip recently where an old guy told me a dirty joke too. Must be something in the Michigan air this week.

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  2. So glad to hear that Merle is doing the 5K and with the belief that we need to keep moving. Sorry though for Pearl. :(

    Also glad that John has a better attitude about his time served. It's a shame so many, many men are forever changed due to Viet Nam. None of us know what they went through.

    xoxo

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  3. I was so glad to see your post today! I was feeling down in the dumps, I'd call several people- (those that say "call me anytime you need to talk... yeah right, no good if they're not going to answer!!!)-so I went to your blog.. just what I needed- thank you!

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  4. People, people, people. Always so interesting.

    I do need to more more. And eat less. I did make it to the beach for a few hours this morning. Even with 50 SPF, sitting in a shady patch and gone by noon ... I still got a bit of pink!

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  5. My uncle was in Vietnam and he came back a changed man...I suppose war does that to people, sadly. But he proudly served.

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  6. I think a person's experience in war may have an impact on how he/she lives with it. Not everyone has the same experience, and a person's personal make-up has something to do with it, too. Some people appear to shed their bad experiences like a reptile sheds its skin while others have difficulty going forward. Moving on with life and living it well is always the best way if you can do it. John's way is healthier for him.

    My old friend (96 when she died) always told me to keep moving and to keep my mind. :)



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  7. i always have such great interactions with vets. i enjoy the time i spend with them, and the stories they share!!!!!

    i don't drive but the hubs sounds a little like you ;))))

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  8. Like you, I have great admiration for veterans. I think the healthiest attitude may be somewhere between John's and the heavily-decorated fellow at Walmart, but to each his own. I am in awe of what they experienced, especially in light of the fact that we didn't have the guts to finish that stupid war, and lost it. It's a shame. xoxo

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