Standing Proud

And so Secretary McDonald has come and gone. He gave our community an hour of his time. He listened intently and responded to comments from residents, veterans, the head ranger from Wind Cave National Park, the National Historic Preservation Trust, former employees of our VA and veterans presently using our domiciliary.

Once again, on a blustery, raw day in the southern Black Hills, a community gathered to support our veterans and our local VA. They came from nearby Nebraska, protesting the possible closure of the best of the best of the VA facilities. One veteran told how he had gone to VA after VA seeking help for his cocaine addiction. He continued his use, often being supplied by dealers standing outside of the VA hospital. He came to this VA 8 months ago and stated with conviction, "This VA saved my life. I will always be an addict, but I am not using."

Voices told similar stories of hope and recovery in this accepting, quiet small town atmosphere of Hot Springs, SD. Several repeated that this VA should be a centerpiece for all of the VA hospitals. It should be restored to its former self and enhanced for all of the veterans, past and present coming from Iraq, Afghanistan and the continual war with ISIS.

Not all who stood patiently wating for a turn to comment had the opportunity to speak. Secretary McDonald was on a schedule and he kept to it strictly. The time was all too short for the auditorium filled to overflowing with hopeful veterans and citizens supporting them. But I, for one, was proud of our small, but passionate and dedicated community. They spoke with conviction and hope. I was filled with tears and gratitude for being a member of this small town in the Black Hills of South Dakota. We stand together against the powers that be in Washington....for our town and for our veterans, past, present and future.

Secretary McDonald has 30 days to make his decision. We can only wait and hope and be united in our gratitude.

Melody on Gratitude

Tomorrow Secretary Robert McDonald, the head of the VA in Washington, DC, will be visiting our VA and conducting a meeting with all of the citizens of Hot Springs. Many have lost hope for keeping our VA in our town, others are still working and have hope. Either way I have taken comfort in a poem I recently received from one of our veterans who will be more directly impacted by the decision than I.

GRATITUDE

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life.
It turns what we have into enough, and more.
It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity.
It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.
Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today,
And creates a vision for tomorrow.

Melody Beattie

We may lose a wonderful VA, but we must keep our gratitude. It is our hope.

The Morning After

It appears to be true. The more educated and deeper thinkers went one way, while the rest took the other road.

This all reminds me of the history lesson: all great civilizations fell, some faster than others. Eventually they rise again in a different form. Our country, too, has been sliding down the slippery slope and now, we, too, angry and fed up with the status quo and the arrogant, have rejected the slower slide to opt for the sudden crash to the bottom of the heap.

It is no wonder. We are now number 26 in education in the world.

Get ready for a bumpy ride. It will be interesting to see how it all turns out.

Painting With Words

There was a poetry reading last night at our Hot Springs Library. The poets read with enthusiasm, be it a poem filled with sadness, regret or humor. It was inspiring to hear those filled with the love of poetry share their feelings with an audience.

One that touched me the most was the poet who, before she read her poem, shared the background to its inspiration. She attends a weekly meeting of artisans at our local co-op. She was in awe of what each of these artists brought to the group. There were shawls and quilts and other various artistic endeavors. She knew that she had no talent with the paint brush so she shared that her artistry was with words. "I paint with words", she said.

My mind soared to other venues, equally artistic. It is not only in the crafts or arts created through the hands, but she reinforced that other avenues are open to creating beauty. I thought of those who draw blueprints, and those who work with their hands constructing the vision of the blueprints. There are those who meld ingredients together to make the perfect loaf of bread, cookies, pies or even an entire meal. Others assist in healing others, teaching developing minds, performing dance or music, working in groups to form consensus, producing the crops to feed the people, squelching the destruction of flames, designing floral arrangements, building cars, computers or repairing products that make lives easier, and on and on. Every one can create to make our world a better place.

There are those who destroy, but there are more who enrich, much as the poet who paints with words.

After all, it is those who create, in whatever form, who are themselves enhanced and who continue to grow and feel the beauty of love and a part of universal creation.