99. The 2007 Wrap Up

 

Dear Friends, Homeless Veterans and even those that may dislike what I write here.

Well 2007 has been a real eye opener as far as the cruelty of man, the stupidity of our species, as well as the best of our kind as well.  It has been a year that has really opened my eyes and brought forth survival, and other skills that I had not known I possessed. For some reason, the mind can expand and go beyond itself when truly pushed to the limit. For some though it can basically breakdown under the stress as well. The homeless have a lot to cope with in daily life, especially those that did not “pick” their lifestyle. Many of the Homeless on the streets of this nation are highly talented individuals with many skills that can be tapped successfully if given a chance, but most of “Humanity” will never see through the outward circumstances. Now click for the New 2007 Wanderingvets Awards for the year!

First let me get out of the way, The Wanderingvet Corporate Idiocy Awards: And our nominees this year are: Ken Parent and Pilot Travel Centers for their treatment personally of me as highlighted in 37.Dateline Birmingham and other sequels under the Pilot Travel Centers category here, and Starbucks Coffee for their support of homeless issues by taking coffee away from a homeless veteran in a wheelchair in 87.Starbucks Says..”No Coffee For You!” (Updated) . And the winner of the first annual Wanderingvet Corporate Idiocy Award goes too…. Oh my in the history of this award we have never had a tie before! Way to go Pilot and Starbucks! Lets see if we cannot improve things this year!

Special Mention Awards for Stupidity go out to  security guard Ralph Miller of Wackenhut Securityin Birmingham, AL for his Co-Starring Role with Pilot Travel Centers. Hopefully, Wackenhut Security will start teaching their Rent a Cops what the law is and how to stay on their own property and not harass those that are not on their property. Oh and who can forget all of those wacky managers at Starbucks Coffee for evicting homeless customers, those that are suspected of being homeless, and those that talk to the homeless. I am glad they keep “Paying it Forward” as it says on their Christmas coffee cups. The only “Paying it Forward going on in a Starbucks is them saying NEXT!

Boycotted Business are as you guessed it: Pilot Travel Centers, Starbucks Coffee and Wackenhut Security. I am sure this list will grow.

The award for Best Veterans Service Organization was a tough one. But the Disabled American Veterans (DAV)who have left me rideless to VA medical appointments before as a life member, did win honorably in the category of their Charities. With their van services I am willing to say that they do help many veterans and that their ratio of donations vs. giving to programs is superior to those of the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars who seem to be doing nothing but selling beer tickets.  These last two organizations I have general disdain for at the moment. I have ran across some real issues of idiocy, and just down right heartlessness to some of their own brother veterans including the homeless veterans and others at their post levels. 2008 would be a good time to change some things in all of our fraternal veteran organizations though. Maybe add a few more tattoo parlors as in American Legion Ink .

The best propaganda team I am starting to realize is the Veterans Administration. There are speech and memo writers there that must have take lessons from Dr. Joseph Goebbels of the German Nazi Propaganda Ministry of WW II. Never have I read propaganda so time encompassing that it can take a person hours to separate facts spread out over thirty years in a single memo when they are talking about something they did last week.

Physician or Clinician of the year category went into limbo. After the death of Sonny Anthony Iovino in Iowa City, Iowa, I am keeping this category open until I can ID the psychiatrist. He has not been identified to me in media reports and those that I have contacted in Iowa City, IA have refused to comment on him at this time. Something smells in Iowa City about this issue.

Special Thanks go to those that have shown me incredible amounts of compassion and kindness to include: AnAmerican (who does the dirty work of keep this site running), Asha, Luis, Jay, those OTR Drivers that have given me lifts along the way, those students that listened and asked intelligent questions at Taos High School in Taos, NM (my first speaking engagement) The Soldiers Angels at the VA Centers especially Lori, Teresa and Sara Jane and those that have commented on this site or emailed me directly either positively or negatively. I read and consider the negatives as well though I personally would like to get more of those since it means someone outside here is doing something and I made them mad. I want to thank also all the new friends this year. Actually it is hard to believe that I have more people that I will call “Friend” at the end of this year than ever in my life. Special Thanks to Michael and Jim who have guided me into becoming better at what I am trying to do here. Have I gotten any better?

To those cities and other municipalities that try to “Cattle Drive” the Homeless out or STARVE them out by making it illegal to allow compassion through feeding assistance, or increased permitting or closing shelters so the homeless may stay out in the cold, may your crimes come to further light. Please go home to your family and tell your children or grandchildren that you support torturing others to include hunger and exposure of the poor to the elements. That you support basically “euthanizing” those you personally do not like. Should make some interesting table talk.  Also by the way: I think since most all of these cities get funding earmarked towards homeless assistance, whenever they try to run a pogrom or purge on the homeless, I would like to have them validate where they have ACTUALLY used or wasted the money given to them and why they have not had success on dealing with homelessness on any level.

Well 2008 hopefully will be a better year. This year Wanderingvets will be expanding their goals to be covered further at a later time this month.

Wanderingvet