Member-only story
Why Veterans are Entitled
Big Jim -and others- stay well-fed, thanks to Veteran’s Day
The Denny’s close to my house was almost empty when I arrived, just before 6 am. Arturo, my waiter, led me to a booth where I could watch the morning commuters as they merged onto a slippery, snowy Highway 6 towards town. He pointed out my choices: any four from the Grand Slam menu, all free, premium extras a bit more.
Damn man. I eat pancakes maybe once every two years.
No sooner did I get my order in and my computer open then two men walked in and headed towards a nearby booth.
“Veterans?” I ventured.
“Yep.” They smiled. A little wary. Sometimes we need to be.
“Me too.”
We thanked each other for the service. Jim’s a huge man, ex-flight engineer. Steve is a Navy guy, who promptly pulled out his Dixie Cup (the traditional white hat of the Navy man) which still had his service number printed on it.
“That’s a relic,” we laughed. All of us were of an age, from 66 to 71, old enough to recall when service numbers preceded Social Security numbers.
“I’m going to snack on free food all day,” Jim grinned. “Applebee’s for lunch, let’s see, Chili’s for dinner…”