The VFW Turkey Jamboree

First off.....there were no banjos. That was slightly disappointing.

My husband Eric, a true American patriot...LOVES the Park Ridge VFW. To him, those old dudes might as well be Michael Jordan. Only a MILLION times better. Not only is he a member himself of the seemingly dying institution, but he buys all their raffle tickets everytime they are offered, he volunteers as a member of the color guard, and now here we are on a Saturday night at the Annual Turkey Jamboree.

The Park Ridge VFW is nearly all WWII and Korea veterans, and the moment Eric and I walk in the door, I joke that our mere prescence drops the average age to 50. Never the less, Eric LOVES being there.

Here’s what happens everytime I go to the Park Ridge VFW:

• You are going to get a STIFF whiskey drink. No matter what you ask for, it is usually incredibly intense and has cherries in it.

• Whomever you talk to has had something REPLACED. A hip, knees, kidney....whatever. Something has failed and they want to tell you exactly what happened to them, what they USED to be able to do, and what they no longer can do.

• Any and all food that may be served is served by little old ladies under 5 feet tall. You will never....NEVER be served by a man.

THE ONE SAD THING THAT HAPPENED.
Whenever I catch one of these older gentleman talking to Eric, they always...ALWAYS talk to him about “bringing in new guys.” They are a dying institution....literally. They want new men from these past Gulf Wars of the 1990s and 2000s to take part. They DO...and then they DON’T. Eric and I were walking down the hall, and one of the “Commanders” saw him and welcomed him home. Eric has been home from Iraq a week, and there was a slight chitty-chat about it. I am proud of my husband, and in conversation I mentioned that Eric received 2 commendation medals from his tour in Sadr City. The commander's response was....”That’s nothing, I survived Iwo Jima.”

Well hell buddy......I got nothing.

Better luck next war.

THE ONE NICE THING THAT HAPPENED.
One of Eric’s VFW Color Guard Members, an elderly man named Charlie, came over to visit us with his wife. His wife was limping a little, but never complained about it. She said a nice hello and then went on to request a song from the band. While she was gone, Charlie (in stereotypical fashion) told us what happened to her foot and all the issues that went with it. Before we knew it, and without asking....he gave us her life medical history. Brain surgery, 2 bouts of Cancer....not to mention giving birth 3 times only to have 1 child live. Damn. He began to form tears in his eyes. I smiled and said to him, “sounds like a tough lady.” And he replied, “That’s my girl alright.....married nearly 58 years. It will be 58 in June.” Wow.

We both congratulated them, and I happily asked what their secret was. “Just love each other” he said, “and realize that nobody is perfect.”

Tomorrow Eric and I celebrate 1 year of marriage. This year we’ve only been together a total of 4 weeks of it. Well....here’s to 1 year of marriage....with 57 to go.

Next year banjos would make the evening perfect.