This is my 24th version of this column.
Wow, two years have come and gone!
I hope everyone is enjoying the warm weather and taking needed precautions with the heat. The new officers have settled into their jobs at American Legion Post 41 and are slowly resolving issues that have been discovered.
Each Wednesday at the “Meet the Officers and Coffee Bar,” issues are discussed and resolutions found. Two topics were the procurement and emplacement of a basketball goal on the parting lot, and the collection and purchase of aluminum drink cans. On Aug. 24, the Legion will have a table set up outside Walmart for the sale of raffle tickets for a Husqvarna 372 chainsaw.
July is the 80th birthday of the local post. Turnout was fair, cake, ice cream and beverages were purchased. Incidentally, the whole organization’s 100th birthday is in another year and a half.
On the national stage, there is now a White House complaint line: 855-948-2311. I can imagine that the line is busy all the time.
It is intended to collect, process and respond to the complaints of individual veterans in a timely and accountable manner, according to Department of VA affairs officials.
VA secretary Dr. David Shulkin has described the initial rollout of the line as a soft launch, with “live-answer agents” receiving and processing some of the calls. He promised that by Aug. 15 the hotline will have continuous live operators 24 hours a day, every day. Hotline calls are allegedly confidential.
Membership renewals for 2018 are in the mail, so if you receive multiple notices, don’t worry, local processing takes a bit of time. It is suggested to pay online, if possible, to speed the processing.
To repeat, every Wednesday is our officers call and coffee bar. Everyone is invited to stop in, socialize and have a cup and a pastry. The second Thursday of each month is the regular meeting – again open to all. All younger service members are encouraged to stop in at any of the meetings.
And to remind everyone the raffle drawing is Sept. 15 at the Legion building.
Have a good August!
Houston resident Keith Ford is a retired infantryman and an amateur writer whose work has appeared in publications around the world. Email kf4tap@yahoo.com.
