bengals

“MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL & AN IRAQ WAR VET” (Monday, November 8, 2010)

Rick picked me up at 6am so we would be downtown in time for the shift change at Fire Station Station 14. Thanks, Lt. Berger, for allowing me to store the trike there overnight. Rolled it into the side lobby of the Hilton (visiting team hotel for the Pittsburgh Steelers), hoping to talk with a player or two, but no such luck. So set up shop in the ornate lobby of the hotel and put in a few hours on the website. Longtime family friend Hamid Abdulla drove into the city to join me for dinner (thanks for everything, Hamid!), then rolled the trike over to a little tailgate party to see what kind of interest I could generate in the ride there. Joe met me later to pick up the trike, then hooked up with my brother Dan and headed over to the game. On our way into the stadium, a disabled Iraq War veteran asking for help caught my eye and I stopped to talk with him. Others streaming by seemed oblivious to his plight. How is it that veterans, who have sacrificed so much, including limbs, end up living on the streets in America? I thought we were about taking care of our own.

Apart from the two obnoxious fans in front of us who finally had to be removed by security, had an enjoyable time at the game with my brother. What looked to be a blowout in the first half turned into a squeaker of a victory by the Steelers over the Bengals. But my thoughts would not leave the military veteran sitting in the cold outside the stadium. I wonder about him still.

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