The Sword

warning--you will not be the first to insult this piece.

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People on the kibbutz who read this all assumed it was Literal. It is allegorical. Figure it out... I'm in a new country... it's not that hard... And, ok, yes, it�s a little braggadocios, but if you could tolerate a little bit...

Missing the Sword...

They�re taking my sword away. I�ve been practicing with it for over eighteen years. I am a near master with it, and able to stop anybody in my path. I�ve studied the past masters of it, those that have used the swords to perfection, the great swordsmen, Twain, Swift, Pope, Faulkner, Lee, and of course one of the all time masters, one of my heroes, The Bard. To play with a sword, one can hurt oneself all too easily, but with my studying, I have managed to work it out, and defend myself against the best, but here alas, the men do not know how to defend themselves with swords. Here they use the sling.

I have studied the sling in the past. It is a beautiful thing. David worked beautifully with the sling, and might have been better then The Bard. Obviously, it would be better to learn all the weapons that I can, and to become a master at each. Ignore Henry Higgins. I can not argue that it would do me good.

What bothers me is that I can not use my swordsmanship here, save very few places, I must learn to use this older tool. Antiquated, but just as deadly, the sling is good to learn to use. I�ve failed in my attempts to use the espada, and I hope not to fall prey to this again. For truth, I did not fail. I know enough so as to appear as a hustler with it, one who is ready to defend himself, one who could defeat you with the espada, but one who is quite obviously ready to mince with the sword. There were masters of the espada, but I have studied their works only as it has pertained to my sword. I have studied the espada masters, a little, enough to know a few tricks, but not enough to defend myself.

On the other hand, I can defend myself with the sling. I�ve studied it since I was in elementary school, but I never needed it. If I were backed in a corner, I could fight back, but I could not defeat Goliath. I could certainly not show off with my sling. I do not like to sound egotistical to my fencing abilities, but it is a skill I associate myself with. I get cocky, I do tricks that we have been warned not to do, yet I feel overly confidant with my abilities.

On the other hand, people don�t seem to know how to use the sword here, and so I HAVE to learn how to use the sling. Again, I�ve studied other weapons. The difference is, whenever I�ve left an instruction course, for either the sling or the espada, I�ve had my hand on my sword the whole time. I�ve never needed to resort to these tools outside of the controlled areas in my classroom, where I could draw my sword at any time.

But here, the sword is not accepted by many of the people as a legitimate weapon. A few appreciate it, but the majority of those around me are forcing me to use the sling. I even, on occasion, am forced to bring out the espada. In both cases I become the underdog, at the mercy of my opponent who is of course, the master of his weapon. It is all an important learning experience, I know that. I know that I need to learn.

But I keep forgetting, and am constantly reaching for my sword, and my heart aches as find an empty sheath.

GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG

Get me outa here!!!

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Michael Kadish

"It�s the loneliest feeling in the world�to stand up when everybody else is sitting down. To have everybody look at you, and say, 'What�s the matter with him?' I know. I know what it feels like. Walking down an empty street, listening to the sounds of your own footsteps. Shutters closed, blinds drawn, doors locked against you. And you aren�t sure if you�re walking towards something, or just walking away." � Inherit the Wind
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