Day #3 (swift, silent, deadly)

photo by Wallace Rollins

We met him on the streets of downtown Chattanooga. I remember it was cold and windy that day. We were there to see a new mural that had been painted on one of the buildings by some famous artist with help from local artists.

photo by Rhonda Boocock

 He was a homeless Vietnam war veteran, penniless but cheerful and sociable. He asked for some money to buy some V8 juice. A very specific drink so I'm thinking he had some vodka and wanted to make a bloody mary. He seemed to have had a few drinks already which may explain some of his animated friendliness. We had no money but he didn't hold that against us and stayed to talk to us for awhile. His name was Ramon. He had an engaging laugh and smile despite being mostly toothless.  He said he was from Cuba and wanted to join the military to fight communism. When he was old enough he joined the Marines and served three tours of duty in Vietnam during the war. Ramon said he was a member of a special operations force known as the Marine Division Recon.  He still proudly wore his jacket from then and stopped talking every once in awhile to point at the American flag sewn on it and say how much it meant to him. As we were talking Ramon's Russian friend showed up. He also told us about Ramon's military career, letting us know what a hero he was. We were already convinced. There was just something about him.  Ramon's friend was a little more interested in what we had to offer them to feed their habit for the night. He explained that people often gave them food but they really needed money to buy things they wanted. Ramon seemed to want to talk more and he patted his pants pocket and told his friend that he had something for the night. Then it was time for them to hurry and leave so they could make it to the homeless shelter before they missed getting a bed for the night. Ramon continued to talk as we walked toward our car and we had a meaningful conversation about of all things, the old tv show about the talking horse, Mr. Ed.  It's been over a year since I met Ramon but I still wonder about him. I hope he's warm, I hope he's safe.

photo by Wallace Rollins