New Start For Captain Mazy

Wading through flooded streets as hurricane rain poured A man fell into the flow when sharp thunder roared As a journalist reporting live from the scene I saw lightning crack through the sky, heard the man scream “Is he homeless?” I asked the emergency crew The director shook his head; the answer he knew “He lives in our park now, but served in Vietnam He saved his entire unit from the Viet Cong.” The team pulled him from the gutter to the shelter I brought him tea, forgot I was a reporter I asked why he’d screamed, his memory seemed hazy “Did you hear the bombs drop?” asked Captain Bob Mazy The emergency director took me aside “We call him Crazy Mazy,” he did confide He suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder Can’t live with the lives he took following orders.” When Hurricane Kate passed o’er the Gulf Coast I’d seen much destruction, but remembered Mazy most His story I broadcasted and vets contacted me The donations poured in; so many gave freely Soon we’d accumulated twenty-five grand Just enough to buy Mazy an acre of land Then people from his home state gathered one weekend To build him a home, much effort they expended Several social workers set up counseling services To meet all his needs, everyone made concessions Local stores gave him clothing, food, even a job No longer “Crazy Mazy,” he was now just Bob A gentle man who soon overcame all his fears On Memorial Day, he was greeted by cheers Accolades he’d never heard when he returned from Nam But attitudes had changed and people’s hearts had warmed