Jan 2024. Blues Vol 40 No. 1

and, father, and friend. But it
doesn’t matter now. All that’s in
the past. You can’t go back and
change nothin. That’s why I’m
hopin you learn by my mistakes
and do better than I did.
A few weeks ago, a young man
came to visit his grandfather
here at the home. Unfortunately,
the man had passed a few days
earlier and no one bothered to
tell his grandson. I could tell he
was upset and I rolled up in my
chair to say how sorry I was. And
that his grandfather was a good
man that loved him and missed
him greatly. Now I have no idea
whether he missed him or not,
but I knew it was what this
young man needed to hear. He
told me his grandfather served
in Germany in the war and was
a war hero. Earned all kinds of
medals for bravery. He was so
proud of him. Fact is, I had no
idea that he had served much
less was a war hero. I always
thought he was just like me, just
waiting for the day he was carried
out like all the rest.
And then the young man asked
me what I did when I was young.
Was I in the war. Yes, I was
an airman in the Korean war.
I served my country and then
went home to serve the people
of my county. First as a deputy
sheriff and later as their Sheriff.
He wanted to know more and
for the next couple of hours, he
listened to all my old tales. What
it was like to be the only lawman
around for miles and dealing
with good guys and bad guys
all by yourself. And of course, I
told him about my granddaughter
and how she was now a cop,
carryin on the family legacy. To
tell you the truth, it was best day
I had in the longest time. I was
sad to see him leave, especially
since I knew I would never see
that young man again. When he
left, I went back to waiting. I’m
still here, just waiting.
From Samantha.
When I went to pick up Grandpa’s
things, I found this letter
written on an old tablet in his
room. I cried when I read it ‘cause
I knew he was all alone and I
barely came to visit him. He’s always
been my hero, and I became
a cop to be just like him. He was
a great man and one who served
his community with pride for
over 45 years. But once my Nana
passed, he couldn’t take care of
himself and he wound up in this
home with hundreds of other seniors,
who had no one either. I’m
truly sorry I didn’t visit him more
often. As I was about to leave, I
ran into a man named Daniel. He
was there to see my Grandpa. I
asked him how he knew him, and
he said he really didn’t, but met
him the week before when his
grandfather passed away and
was collecting his things. Believe
it or not, Daniel and I are now
seeing each other. Our grandfathers
would be so proud of us.
God Bless everyone who reads
this and understands what loneliness
is all about.
The Blues - January ‘24 121