But Sunday a story brought me to the hospital. A local church group and several teens from a library knitting group were going to visit the veterans in the long term care section of the hospital. They dropped off afghans and goodie bags they made for the veterans. Then they walked around and visited with the veterans. It was a wonderful experience for those participating and for me who was there to watch and report the story. I talked with the teenagers about their experience. They said they enjoyed talking with the vets and felt like they learned a lot from people who actually lived what they've only read about in history books. But for the veterans it meant even more. Everyone I talked with said how much they enjoyed the visit especially with the teens. They said occassionally people do stop by to visit. Mostly though it's older people and they do appreciate it. But when they see a young person stop by it means the world to them. The vets told me that a visit from a young person makes them realize they haven't been forgotten.
So next time you're driving by the VA hospital and you have a few extra minutes why not stop by and visit just to say thank you to the people who helped make it possible for us to wake up free everyday.