Happy Veteran's Day!

So today is Veteran's Day... a day to honor all the men and women that have fought for us and protected us from the likes of pricks like Osama Bin Laden and Suddam Hussein. I hate those guys! I do appreciate all our veterans for serving and I want to thank them for keeping us safe. However, there is one former veteran that has a special place in my heart that I personally thanked this morning on my way to work.

His name is John and he lives on the Jackson St. Bridge just outside Union Station. John is a bum and sits in this exact place every day with a sign that reads "Former Military, now Homeless Please Help Me" with a little American flag attached to it. Yes, this sounds sad but I think John lives pretty comfortably because his change jar is always full and I figured if he wasn't making decent money begging at this location, then he would move. But he doesn't.

I have developed a nice relationship with John as I walk pass him every day to the train station. It started out with me buying him a donut every Friday after work. You're probably thinking, well that's very nice of you Jeff. But truthfully, Dunkin Donuts has a 2 for $1 deal and I can't resist getting a donut after a long week and my guilt doesn't allow me to eat the 2nd so I give it to John. That day, John ate that Pumpkin Spice donut like it was running away. This made me feel bad, so I started giving him my 2nd donut every Friday (never both). I'd often switch up the flavor... maybe a Chocalate Long John, a Boston Creme, or a Manager's Special if I had a good day. John started to expect it on Friday's and to my surprise, he introduced himself to me and thanked me a few weeks ago. He also added that he prefers the Chocolate Long John Donut. This made me laugh, but I said no problem.

Well in honor of Veteran's Day, this morning I bought John a sausage biscut with cheese from McDonald's. I've never seen a bum so happy in my life. I thought he was gonna hug me, but I resisted because God knows he hasn't showered in months. I have no idea whether or not he actually served in the Military as his sign claims, but John seems like a stand up guy and I thank him for patrolling that bridge everyday. Happy Veteran's Day, John.


Sorry that I don't have a picture of John... I will attempt to take one after work today with him and update this post. Maybe I'll bribe him with a donut for a photo op.

God Bless America!