The USO

Growing up I heard many stories from my mother about all the fun she had at the USO dances during the war. Later during that golden era in America, the fifties, my grandmother would take the bus downtown, as she did not drive, and play cards with the servicemen on leave. What wonderful memories they both had. The USO still stands, I was glad to see yesterday. I thought of my mother and grandmother and the many people who passed through these heavy, old doors, handsome young men in uniform who didn't return from WW II and those who met their true loves on the dance floor. The USO is now on the National Registry of Historic Places and is used sporadically for various art venues. When I stopped by yesterday, the big, high ceilinged room was empty except for the two young women volunteers, and echoes of the past seemed to swirl around my head. What tales it could tell!