Swag!!!!

Tweet

For the last decade or so our local Veterans Hospital has been holding a women veterans’ day open house on the third Saturday in September. This is the second year it’s been relegated to a drive-thru BOC (that’s “because of covid,” not “Blue Öyster Cult” ). I finished lunch relatively early today so I swung by shortly before it ended. It was better as a drive-thru because I didn’t have to look for a parking spot. I do miss some of the classes (one year there was a masseuse there!! ) and raiding the tables’ candy stash but this worked just fine. I don’t see them going back to the old way any time soon, even if covid eases up. This was quick and easy. I drove up, registered, saw a lot of cheerleaders (not real school ones, just volunteers) waving American flags and waving to the vets driving through. There was a table with some goodies from the various recruiters (critique: the Marine Corps loves giving stuff away, the Navy needs more swag, and where the heck was the Air Force and the Coast Guard?????), then a “swag bag” filled with stuff. A little further down the way they were giving out a lunch and had a flu shot stand (the only place where you’d have to get out of your car). As I had just eaten I turned down the food and took the bottle of water. When I got home I unpacked the swag bag. There was some pretty cool stuff in it! The best score was a flash drive. Thanks, whoever donated those!!!! Also some pens (the cutest one is a breast cancer awareness pen that has a happy face with a mop top on it), pads, a stress ball (doesn’t work, it’s not hard enough to hit someone in the head and relieve my stress ), a daily pill dispenser, and a water bottle. Last but not least was a pound of coffee! Don’t worry, that’s going to my brother. (You think one family can produce TWO sailors who don’t drink coffee??? ) Lots of information, too, for people who may be newcomers to the VA healthcare system and not know the benefits available. There were handouts about women’s health clinics at the hospital (a BIG step up from the mid-80s when I first got out, when a “women’s clinic” was two hours one Tuesday a month), Gilda’s Club (a cancer resource/help center started by Gilda Radner’s widower, Gene Wilder), smoking cessation help (I’m giving that to my brother with the coffee), and other information for the various things in the life of a woman veteran (e.g., spouse abuse help, sexual abuse in the military, etc.). There’s a small sitting area/garden near one of the entrances to the hospital. It’s dedicated to women veterans, with a plaque that says “She Served, Too.” As any of the other female veterans here (I know Coral and Valerie off the top of my head) will attest, being a woman in the military has challenges unlike anything else. It’s nice that the VA hospital celebrates the women veterans here! Oh, did I mention Blue Öyster Cult?