A Better Life

A Better Life

“I pray that I can envision something that is better than the life
I am living” he said.
He said he was a Purple Heart veteran.
He said he pulled people out of burning rubble in Kuwait.
He said he was on Coumadin and an anti-seizure medicine.
He said he had post traumatic stress disorder, but refused to take Prozac….
So they dropped his benefits.
He said his wife committed suicide.
He said he had three kids.
He said his wife’s cousin was taking care of them.
He said the middle daughter needed glasses.
He said the cousin was having a hard time
And the kids might have to go into foster care.
He said his mother and father were dead.
He pointed to the scar on his face.
He indicated where he had a rod in his leg.
He showed me all kinds of medical papers.
He said his purple heart was in a pawn shop because since we turned his back on him,
It wasn’t worth anything more than the money to him anymore.
He said he wanted work.
$100 would do it.
He said he needed to make it to October 16th when he has a hearing to
restore his VA benefits and pay him retroactively.
I held his hands and we prayed……
“I pray that I can envision something that is better than the life I am living” he said.
Now….
He might be lying.
He didn’t have and ID to show me.
What kind of veteran doesn’t have an ID?
He didn’t want to me to call and verify his hearing date.
He might be lying. He might not.
If he is lying, I suspect that the life he is living is worse than what he told me.
And what he told me was plenty bad enough.
I gave him $20 from my wallet.
I was going to use it to get a pedicure.