Standing in line on a wind-whipped concourse of Huntington Park, waiting to step inside an executive office that for a few hours became a makeshift eye-exam station, Donald Boyd contemplated his own mortality.
When I was young, I thought I was going to live forever, you know? said Boyd, a 53-year-old Air Force veteran still bouncing back after a year or so of homelessness. Now, I count the days. And Im happy for every one Ive got.
A minute later, he turned to another man in line at Central Ohio Stand Down, the annual event where both help and hugs are plentiful for homeless or down-on-their-luck veterans.
Come on, man. You dont look happy, Boyd told the man. Were alive. Were here. We have lots to be thankful for.
For 17 years, Stand Down had been held at Franklin County Veterans Memorial. With that buildings pending demolition, the event moved to Huntington Park this year. Organizers expected the numbers to drop, but instead they jumped by a few. Last year, the five-hour event served 441 veterans. Yesterday, 447 were helped.
Veterans Memorial was free to organizers, who had more than 30,000 square feet of space to work with. This year, organizers had to pay $9,700 for tents to transform the west concourse of the baseball park into a tunnel full of service.
There were some logistical issues: In the past, 30 barber-school students gave more than 250 haircuts to the veterans, but yesterday, with much less space available, seven barbers gave 98.
Still, event vice-chairman Dan Willis said no one was disappointed.
Well soon get together to figure out what worked and what didnt and see what we want to do differently next year, he said.
Boyd served in the U.S. Air Force from 1977 to 1981. Hes been to Stand Down before, and returned yesterday in hopes of finding ways to get back on his feet. After bouncing in and out of the Faith Mission for about a year, hes in an East Side apartment and, with the help of a federal housing voucher, will move into a bigger place in November.
Despite being a bear of a man at 6 foot 4, he easily cut through the crowded concourse, weaving in and out of the information booths, where he picked up useful freebies ranging from toothpaste and a razor to a bag stuffed with bananas, apples, snacks and a carton of chocolate milk. He got a flu shot, asked a dentist about what agency could help get him dentures and had his blood pressure checked (considering his size and his diabetes, it was nearly perfect).
An optometry student from Ohio State University examined his eyes and recommended glasses. Before he left, Boyd also had among lots of other things phone numbers for counselors, a 2015 calendar to help him track his health and a new, size 13 pair of work boots to get him through the winter.
The clothing tables had no coats or sweatshirts his size, but he didnt mind. He said hed make do. He was far more concerned that people such as Bob Keesler got what they needed.
Keesler is a 55-year-old Army veteran who said the bedbugs and roaches ran him out of his apartment. He now calls a one-man tent on the banks of the Scioto River home. Hes gotten help at Stand Down for several years. He said yesterday that he missed Veterans Memorial.
They had it down to an art at the old place, he said. We all went in, got what we needed and got out. Plus, it was warm there.
He didnt want to complain, though. He said it was just growing pains.
Were all military, Keesler said. We adapt just fine. People just had to get here to see it was going to be all right.
