The thrill of victory, the agony of defeat
Nov 11, 2024 14:41:43 GMT -5
daleko, cbisbig, and 1 more like this
Post by drjensen on Nov 11, 2024 14:41:43 GMT -5
The thrill of victory, the agony of defeat.
A little story I thought I would share. Every November 11, Veterans Day, I volunteer to hand out poppies for the VFW in our community. Today, another veteran, Gary, and I stood outside a local grocery store for a couple hours doing our thing, handing out poppies and collecting money for our local VFW. The amount of money donated today seemed to be more than years past, people were giving very freely and stopping to chat with us at length, thanking us for our service, and in general everyone was in a pretty good mood. Some people said they didn't have cash on them, but they would donate as soon as they had bought their groceries, which they did. Just before our shift was about to end a guy I know by the name of Don approached us, I know him because he belongs to the same country club as I do and on occasion, uninvited, he pushes his way into our group of 16 or so golfers. Don is not a good golfer, but he thinks he is and usually he proceeds to tell everyone what is wrong with their swing, how to read a putt etc. He also cheats. Never writes down his actual score, shaving strokes and plainly is not a welcome addition to our group. Our group is made up of Democrats and Republicans and we have discussions on politics, but it is friendly banter and not the focus for our weekly game. Don is a liberal and whenever he intrudes into our group, his political views, although unwelcome, are usually voiced.
Today, I saw Don approaching and trying to be friendly, I said I thought you were already in Florida, getting away from the Iowa winter. He said he was but came home to vote. He declined to offer any money and declined the poppy I offered him and headed into the grocery store. About 10 minutes later he came out of the store and was about 20 feet from us, heading to his car, when I said, "hey Don, you voted Red this time didn't you?". Now Don is not a very big man, maybe 5'6" and 130 lbs, bald with really scraggly long hair and I am pretty sure he still likes to toke on a little weed. He spun around, stormed right back at me and said, "that's it, don't you ever ask me to golf with you again!, you realize that Trump is going to take away Medicare and Medicaid and this country is going to cease to exist!" This little guy was fuming, Gary, and I both started laughing and Don got even madder and headed off sputtering and fuming.
As he got in his car and spun out of the parking lot, I thought of Mikey and Walt, how Karma has come to pay a visit, how they too must be suffering in agony and defeat, and a smile crossed my face. Happy Veterans Day everyone.
A little story I thought I would share. Every November 11, Veterans Day, I volunteer to hand out poppies for the VFW in our community. Today, another veteran, Gary, and I stood outside a local grocery store for a couple hours doing our thing, handing out poppies and collecting money for our local VFW. The amount of money donated today seemed to be more than years past, people were giving very freely and stopping to chat with us at length, thanking us for our service, and in general everyone was in a pretty good mood. Some people said they didn't have cash on them, but they would donate as soon as they had bought their groceries, which they did. Just before our shift was about to end a guy I know by the name of Don approached us, I know him because he belongs to the same country club as I do and on occasion, uninvited, he pushes his way into our group of 16 or so golfers. Don is not a good golfer, but he thinks he is and usually he proceeds to tell everyone what is wrong with their swing, how to read a putt etc. He also cheats. Never writes down his actual score, shaving strokes and plainly is not a welcome addition to our group. Our group is made up of Democrats and Republicans and we have discussions on politics, but it is friendly banter and not the focus for our weekly game. Don is a liberal and whenever he intrudes into our group, his political views, although unwelcome, are usually voiced.
Today, I saw Don approaching and trying to be friendly, I said I thought you were already in Florida, getting away from the Iowa winter. He said he was but came home to vote. He declined to offer any money and declined the poppy I offered him and headed into the grocery store. About 10 minutes later he came out of the store and was about 20 feet from us, heading to his car, when I said, "hey Don, you voted Red this time didn't you?". Now Don is not a very big man, maybe 5'6" and 130 lbs, bald with really scraggly long hair and I am pretty sure he still likes to toke on a little weed. He spun around, stormed right back at me and said, "that's it, don't you ever ask me to golf with you again!, you realize that Trump is going to take away Medicare and Medicaid and this country is going to cease to exist!" This little guy was fuming, Gary, and I both started laughing and Don got even madder and headed off sputtering and fuming.
As he got in his car and spun out of the parking lot, I thought of Mikey and Walt, how Karma has come to pay a visit, how they too must be suffering in agony and defeat, and a smile crossed my face. Happy Veterans Day everyone.
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