Pensioners in Britain and in North America riding public transit all day and flocking to libraries and shopping malls to escape the cold at homes they can no longer afford to heat should consider their local Legions.
What better place to come in from the cold than at the local Legion?
You can nurse a cup of coffee or a draught beer at costs much cheaper than what you pay at the local donut shop or neighbourhood bar.
The atmosphere at the Legion is friendly, warm and sincerely patriotic.
On long, cold and lonely afternoons it’s where stories are traded by the veterans of many wars. Homemade dishes with the kind of fare that stick to a fella’s or gal’s ribs are served. Cards, dart games and billiards are played, and there are the Friday and Saturday night dances.
Most Legions are located along public transit lines. If you cannot afford the moderate fee Legions charge to join, all you have to do to be there is to sign in.
Your age and financial status are your own business at the local Legion and foul language is not tolerated.
There’s no security officer urging you to move along at the Legion like there is the shopping malls. Instead of the dirty looks you may get from library staff, there’s a smile to greet visitors at the Legion.
Patrons of Legions are salt of the earth types.
Not only is the legion by virtue of being there doing pensioners looking for a place to stay warm a favour, pensioners who turn up at the Legion are doing the Legion a favour. As veterans from the wars die off, membership at Legions is dwindling.
If you’re looking for a warm and friendly place to get out of the cold this Winter, check out your local Legion.
Judi McLeod——Bio and Archives
-- Judi McLeod, Founder, Owner and Editor of Canada Free Press, is an award-winning journalist with more than 30 years’ experience in the print and online media. A former Toronto Sun columnist, she also worked for the Kingston Whig Standard. Her work has appeared throughout the ‘Net, including on Rush Limbaugh and Fox News.
