Seventy-one years old. A trip to Colorado ahead. Skiing, snowmobiling, and scuba diving on the bucket list. Army veteran Charles “Charlie Ray” Powell, from Henderson, North Carolina, still had things he wanted to try.
In a story published by the Durham VA in April 2025, Powell talked about preparing for the National Disabled Veterans Winter Sports Clinic. He also competed in the National Veterans Wheelchair Games. There was another trip to anticipate, another sport to learn, another reason to get out the door.
That seems like a good place to start on Veterans Day.
We know how to put together a ceremony. Arrange the chairs, raise the flag, find someone to make a speech. Those moments matter. But eventually the chairs get folded, the microphone gets packed away, and everybody goes home. There’s still a Thursday morning to fill. Still a whole life happening after November 11.
Sport gives some of that time a purpose. You have somewhere to go. People expecting you. A skill that refuses to cooperate until you put the work in. Maybe you discover you’re good at it. Maybe you discover you’re terrible and want another shot anyway. Both are excellent reasons to come back.
Powell found those opportunities through the Durham VA’s recreation therapy programming. His explanation of what they meant to him was direct: “It gives me something to look forward to every year.”
That sentence carries some weight. Anyone who has spent a winter thinking about the first fishing trip of spring understands it. So does the person who plans a week around basketball, or starts checking the weather five days before a ride. Anticipation gets into the ordinary hours. You prepare. You make plans. You call somebody and ask whether they’re going, too.
Then you get there, and the sport takes over.
A basketball possession gives you seconds to find the opening. A kayak makes you pay attention to the water and what you’re doing with the paddle. Boccia looks like a quiet afternoon until somebody lands a ball exactly where you didn’t want it. Suddenly everyone has an opinion, and somebody is asking for a measurement.
There’s pleasure in that concentration. You get absorbed in a problem you actually want to solve. Your next shot. Your next turn. How to stop making the same mistake you were absolutely certain you had fixed.
Making those experiences possible takes work that rarely makes a good photograph. Equipment that fits. Transportation that turns up. An accessible place to change. An instructor who understands the adaptation and knows the sport well enough to teach it properly. Get those details right, and the athlete can get on with playing.
Here in the Triangle, the Durham VA offers recreation therapy that includes adapted exercise, sports, and games. Veterans receiving care there can ask their primary care team about a referral, then talk with a recreation therapist about their interests and available options.
That’s a useful conversation to have. “I used to love doing this.” “I’ve always wanted to try that.” “I need something that gets me out of the house.” Any of those is enough to get started.
This Veterans Day, thank the veterans in your life. Then stick around for the conversation about what comes next. Ask what they enjoy. What they miss. What they would try if the right opportunity came along.
Charlie Ray had skiing on his list at 71. A mountain in Colorado was still worth the trip.