Brockton, MA - Honoring service

Our country’s Veterans Affairs hospitals, “the VA”, serve about 9 million Veterans each year. And they are across the country, with more than 1,200 different facilities. They are critical to caring for the men and women who have protected and served our country. My labyrinth hunt, although often to hospitals, rarely intersects with a VA. Fortunately, I did get a chance to go to a local VA recently in Brockton, Mass., a Boston suburb, to check out the labyrinth there. It’s a large campus that houses several regional centers, including ones for homeless and women veterans. And it has a small, three-circuit labyrinth behind Building 7 that was installed about 2 years ago by a local Coast Guard association, according to some Internet research. I read that the building on the rear of the campus is for palliative and hospice care. Next to the labyrinth was a walkway, a greenhouse, some benches and a garden. It made for a nice, peaceful place. As one of my walking companions noted, “I’m sure this labyrinth is well-used.” Indeed.