A Native American Korean veteran was sitting on a park bench in front of the book store in downtown Hot Springs. I sat down beside him as he was sipping on his cup of coffee and we talked about his life, which was colorful, to say the least. After years of working as a cowboy on different ranches, he was ordered by a judge to go into a substance abuse treatment program at the VA in Hot Springs. He has remained sober, and in Hot Springs, ever since.
He talked about how things have changed at the facility. In former times he said that the staff didn't know what to do with people of color - black or red. They didn't treat them the same as the white veterans back then.
The Korean veteran sat for a while nursing his coffee. Then he said quietly, "They didn't seem to know that we are all alike under the color of our skin. We all have our hopes and dreams."
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