Army of One

I was in the courthouse yesterday writing a story when I looked up and saw an elderly man I used to know being helped down the hall by a courthouse deputy. The man had obviously had a stroke since the last time I had seen him. I thought about saying hello but I was on a deadline and he looked like he was late for jury duty.

A few hours later I was on the second floor of the courthouse looking out a large window. I noticed the man I used to know was outside. He was being assisted by a young man, who had his arm around the man's waist attempting to help stabilize him. I saw the man whisper something in the young man's ear. The young man stepped aside and the man I used to know reached into his pocket and gave the young man his car keys and pointed out where his car was parked.

The young man jogged to the car and drove it to the elderly man and the two went on their separate way.

I was wondering what kind of a young man exhibits such compassionate behavior. I watched him walk into the building and saw that he was actually older than I first thought. His tattoos suggested he was a soldier.

There are lots of stories about soldiers at the courthouse. Most of them have to do with divorce, drugs or some sort of violence. For once it was nice to see an Army of One in action at the courthouse.