I know the approaching federal holiday is set aside to remember those, all too many, who have given the last full measure of devotion to our nation. Most veterans that I know firmly decline thanks for their service on this weekend, for reasons I understand well. My apologies to those men and women for this brief note.
I just watched a really funny, sad, complicated movie about some men who’d served in a funny, sad, complicated situation. I called my friend a few blocks away, fellow who’d been in that situation and told him I was coming by to drop off the disc, that he’d probably enjoy it.
He said it would be best if I waited until the morning, that he wouldn’t be able to pay it much attention tonight. Having talked with him earlier today, I got why.
He doesn’t have much of what most of us understand as joints anymore, just bones rubbing against each other where the usual goo and strings used to be. Consequence of circumstances beyond his control a long time ago.
Because he’s not interested in living on pills, the VA in recent years has been giving him treatments they’d never heard of when he incurred these difficulties, things like integrated PT and OT, dry needling and other rather unsoldierly New Agey things. It didn’t make him live happily ever after, but it helped. A lot.
This week, he was told that the improvement he’d shown in pain management was sufficient that those programs would no longer be available for him, that if his pain persisted, he should talk to his primary and see them again in three months.
There are, at present, more than 39,000 unfilled vacancies in theraputic and administrative positions in the Department of Veterans Affairs. The current administration and Congress do not seem interested in filling them. Whether that is because they’re hoping to expand private provider programs like Veterans Choice or they simply don’t much care, I don’t know.
What I do know is that my friend can’t concentrate long enough to watch a movie tonight. Because he’s paying attention to pain.
It’s meet and proper that we take this holiday to honor those who have given everything for our country. Respect in the highest.
But my mind is still on those who’ve given damn near everything and do not enjoy the rest afforded the fallen. I don’t know what will be done for or to them. I know our politicians don’t like thinking about them or spending money on them and it’s pretty obvious they’re tired of hearing about them. Damn shame that, as they’re not all going away to quiet fields quite yet.
So I’ll just ask this. Mr. President, Mr. and Mme. Congressperson, if you really don’t want to see, hear from, think about or, heaven forbid, help those who’ve given the second to last full measure of devotion, maybe you should think long and hard before making more.
That’s all I have to say. My deepest apologies to those spending this weekend remembering those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for us. It was not my intention to diminish or distract from the honors due them.