ClimbtheWindStart

Warning: This is dark, though I wouldn�t call it, in the end, a tragedy. Nonetheless, I strongly recommend reader discretion. There's a character death, but it occurs at the outset so you don�t have to wonder when it�s coming. There's also a lot of plain, brutal nastiness: the horrible things that people can do to each other. The inspiration for this story is � very loosely � the Iliad. Hey, if you�re going to cop a theme, you may as well cop Homer.

Notes: In highly traumatic combat situations, the ties between men exceed the term �friendship� by modern usage. I direct readers to Jonathan Shay�s splendid Achilles in Vietnam: Combat Trauma and the Undoing of Character. He says, "Modern American English makes soldiers' love for special comrades into a problem, because the word love evokes sexual and romantic associations. But friendship seems too bland for the passion of care that arises between soldiers in combat" (40). This is a love story. It is not a sex story.

Feedback is not the mythical city of Shangri-la. :-) One of these long pieces takes time to write, and it's nice to know if folks are reading it, although I'm not sure if 'enjoying it' is quite the word for this one. [email protected]

Archiving: Scott & Logan and Red Shades have permission to take this one. Otherwise, due to the dark nature of the tale, I�d ask that if you want to archive it, especially on personal pages, please let me know. I just want to keep track of where it�s going � and please be certain that the warning remains attached.