July 16, 2021
Robert Sykes. A frequent visitor on my daily path. Until yesterday he was always as the aged man who downed two huge Red Bulls before shopping for groceries. I didn’t know his story. Not til fate put me next to him while manning the beer and wine bar at Harris Teeter. Robert Sykes wanted another glass of the house juice. He wanted to know where I was from, “You talk funny. People don’t sound like you.” I learned while choosing to listen that Robert Sykes had walked nearly the entire nation. Walked meaning he hitch hiked. That doesn’t always mean getting a ride. Nor does it always offer shelter. The worst storm he’s ever seen was in North Dakota. He had to take shelter under an overpass. Robert Sykes is a U.S. Marine. He wanted Air Force but felt he’d take whatever they’d give. 1968. His hero John Wayne would do it. So he needed to. Get over to Vietnam. In the moments he arrived, the platoon that which he was part of was ambushed. They lost six including their leader. Robert Sykes remembers every man that was part of his team, including the cities they were from. Robert Sykes found reason to chuckle about a helicopter that almost landed on him while trying to free an area under attack. Today, he finds solitude sitting in the far corner of a grocery store beer and wine bar. Slowly sipping on the juice. When it was time to go. I called Yellow Cab. I watched as he struggled to get into the vehicle. Not because of the wine. It was the effects of time. I thanked Mr. Sykes for his stories. He quickly returned, “There’s a lot of us out here that want to talk. We just can’t find the listeners.”