in the gathering of old men the theme to me seems to be change. so far in this book all i can see them talking about is the past. from when one of them was in the army and was told to take off the uniform he wore because he didnt deserve it.Or when when tucker talked about his brother silas; plus when they were all reminiscing they brought up nothing but troubles they had in the past.everyone around them say the times have change but not in their minds is my point because to them they still face the same kind of discrimination as they did before.