VET: A standing ovation

Several years ago my family and I were waiting for the Fourth of July parade in downtown Coeur d’Alene. We had arrived early and found a spot for our blanket and kids. As other parade watchers arrived, I noticed an elderly man in a wheelchair, wearing a veteran’s hat.

Some folks close by moved aside, so he could be wheeled into the shade of a large pine tree.

When the parade finally appeared and the Honor Guards marched by with the American Flag, I watched the old man struggle to get out of his wheelchair, stand and remove his hat. Not once, but every time the Stars and Stripes passed he somehow found the strength to rise up and honor it.

If anyone ever earned the right to sit during a flag passing or the playing of our national anthem, it was that old man in his wheelchair. Yet he rose and stood with pride until each flag-bearer was well beyond our location.

Whether it was intended or not, without saying a word, that old man in his wheelchair provided a valuable lesson for everyone around him. What an incredible role model.

STEVE SHAMION

Post Falls