LAWRENCE - It was an ordinary noon meal in a cafeteria setting. Spaghetti and meatballs with a simple salad, bread, coffee or coke and a cannoli for desert. That's what the staff served up at the Lawrence Council on Aging last Friday.
But it's always the thought behind the kind gesture that counts.
So it was easy to see why many of the 90-some happy Lawrencians who showed up for the first veterans appreciation luncheon were acting like they were special guests at a banquet.
"It was a beautiful thing they put on for us," said Sully Contarino, 90, who bragged about cutting a lot of hair as a barber in the U.S. Navy during World War II.
"The food was good, the service was good and everything was fine. Not too many politicians showed up either," he said.
The politicians included a couple of Army veterans - City Councilor Joseph Parolisi, who lost his re-election bid last week, and City Personnel Director Frank Bonet, who failed in his bid to win a seat on the School Committee.
Newly elected School Committee member James Stokes, a frequent participant in patriotic events for the city, gave the blessing.
Contarino and the other veterans who showed up, ranging from the war in Iraq all the way back to World War II, were pleased that on this autumn day somebody was making such a big deal about the sacrifices they made for their country.
The bingo/function hall at the senior center was decorated with red, white and blue balloons filled with helium. Some World War II era music and patriotic songs filled the hall. After the meal, a bunch of the proud vets picked up their mini-American flags and gathered at the stage for a group shot, eager to capture a special moment.
Contarino, who was born in Lawrence and raised in Italy before coming here for good in 1934 at the age of 17, brought his own memories to share - including a 1944 photo of him in his Navy uniform.
After the service, the Navy barber embarked on a career cutting hair for 62 years.
Friday's luncheon was special for Americo Plantamura, a U.S. Army veteran from World War II who also celebrated his 86th birthday.
"This was very good, and I hope they continue it," said Plantamura, who worked for Honeywell for many years.
"I was born in Lawrence, came back, got married here, raised three children. My boy (Paul) is a detective in the Lawrence Police Department."
Kyungshin Kang, 81, a South Korean native who served for three years with the U.S. Army during the Korean War, gave the thumbs-up sign when asked what he thought about the luncheon.
Kang, who moved to Lawrence about 19 years ago, beamed a big smile as he was all decked out in a powder blue jacket with Korean War veteran patches and his ribbons from the war.
He was raving about the spaghetti and meatballs.
"One of my favorites," Kang said.
"During the war, I got to eat American food with the American soldiers. It was very good," he said. A lot better than food provisions that poorly supplied soldiers from his country had for their meals, he added.
There wasn't much complaining about the luncheon, except that the Council on Aging could have gotten twice as many vets to break bread had it done more to promote the event.
"Yeah, we could have done more," said the council's executive director, Bernard Reilly.
"Next year, we'd like to do it on a grander scale, and maybe do some live entertainment," he said.
But as modest as this year's event was, it accomplished its simple mission, Reilly suggested.
"It was a good way for city veterans to build some camaraderie among their peers. They can talk about the war they were in, exchange war stories, show off old photos and talk to people they haven't seen in a long time," Reilly said.
"It's just the socialization aspect of an event like this that makes them feel appreciated. We're not a VFW or AMVETS hall. But we are a senior center that can adapt to anything - and that includes doing something special for the vets," he said.
The center's program administrator, Martha Velez, came up with the idea for a veterans luncheon, then bounced it off city Veterans' Services Director Francisco Urena, who thought it was a great idea. He was there Friday.
"We owe a lot to them because they gave us our freedom," said Velez, who prepared the meal with help from other senior center staff.
"I just thought it would be a great way to give back to the people from this community who have given so much to defend this country. You have to have a big heart to risk your life to fight for people you don't even know. We don't know how lucky we are to live in this country. And this is one way to say thanks," she said.
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Staff writer Mark E. Vogler writes Milling Around each week for the Sunday Eagle-Tribune. He can be reached at 978-946-2291 or mvogler@eagletribune.com.
