God Bless America. She Needs It.

Our agency has a housing program designed specifically for homeless veterans. During intake, we don't ask which war they served in, only that they were active duty.

One of our board members, however, found a funding source that dedicates its dollars towards agencies that serve veterans of the current wars taking place in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Last week, I asked the program director who oversees that program to ask her clients if any served in either of those two wars. [To be clear, I consider it the same war, just two different fronts. But for funding purposes, I'll play ball].

Anyway, I followed up with the program and learned that all of our current clients were Vietnam-era veterans.

That's not the punchline. This is:

The program director looked at her notes from when we first conversed, repeated the criteria, and commented outloud to herself, "Afghanistan and Iraq, huh? I don't even know which wars those are."

Now, I try to maintain healthy relationships at work. However, I wasn't sure if this was the opportunity for an honest teaching moment, a reason to comment on the general lack of intelligence and the seemingly open-search for ignorance that is absolutely inexcusable to the point the freedom of franchise should be summarily taken away and never returned, or the time to just shut my mouth.

Unable to do the first, wanting to do the second, I chose to do the third.

However, once I got in my car at the end of the day, I laughed so hard tears poured from my eyes. At least I hope it was because of the laughter.