Wallflower Reunion----a short story I started a while back. This is the pitch for it.

Rick Steps is forty-eight years old and recently divorced.  His thirtieth high school class reunion is coming up in two days.  Rick plans to go and, hopefully, meet Chrissie Manuess; the girl he fell in love with in eighth grade.  He remained in love with her throughout high school, but never even talked to her, until the day he retrieved her ring when it came spinning towards him on the high school hallway floor.  It was a brief, awkward conversation that ensued.  He always wondered; Did she throw the ring on the floor so he would pick it up and approach her?  He was a wallflower in high school; he was an extremely shy,young man, who was not unattractive, but, nonetheless, lacked confidence.  Although Rick eventually became an attorney and projected a cool, confident demeanor in court, the idea of meeting Chrissie Manuess again filled him with anxiousness, but at the same time thoughts of recouping a lost opportunity for love excited him.  Little did he know the danger that awaited him.

Gabe's verbal rampage

Gabe poured himself a little more of the Weed and then said, “Before you tell it, I think I need to say a little more.  I want you to understand why I am the way I am.”  He paused, sipped his drink and then continued.

“I volunteered for listening posts 100-200 yards into the jungle and me and three other guys would sit there, listen and see if anybody came by, if they did we’d let them go by and then we’d alert the base.”

     “We’d capture a few guys.  Those we captured we had to turn over to the ARVN (Army of the Republic of Vietnam—- South Vietnam)

Most VC were village kids who didn’t have any useful knowledge.

The ARVN would tie two kids up to two different trees as they stood there while the ARVN questioned them.  One time the ARVN interrogator wound a chunk of twine around the VC’s neck and hung a detonator on it.  Then they’d walk over to a third tree (3-4 inches in diameter), wrap it around and hang another detonator to that.  Then without saying another word, they’d activate the detonator on the third tree and blow it up.  After that the VC wouldn’t shut up, they’d tell them anything they wanted to know.”

    “Another trick they had was to take four VC onto a Huey helicopter and without saying a word would grab one and throw him out,  then the other three told anything the ARVN wanted.”

    Jack thought back to the 1969, TV footage he had seen of an ARVN officer shooting a captured VC in the head.  The photograph of the event had gone viral, reaching millions in the United States and around the world helping fuel anti-war sentiments.

“I never enjoyed my part in any of that.  I never got used to it and it sickened me that we had to hand over those kids to ARVN and know how they were going to be treated."

Without prompting, Gabe continued.  He was on a roll and it seemed like he was eager to get everything out.  “We called it Operation Big Dick."

   "We’d taken the hill and blasted the jungle, burning it out for the one star General to come and get some combat points to advance to the next level of pay.  He’d fly in, have a hot meal, stay in a tent, and then fly out later.  This was his combat experience.  This pissed off everybody on the front line.”

   “Most of the guys around got sick, sooner or later, dysentery.  I was so sick one night, we were getting small arms fire.  I was so fucking sick, I crawled out to the shitter, two 45 gallon drums with a plank across it shitting my guts out, when I thought, just kill me.  Everyone had body lice and crawling worms on you, slug like creatures.  They’d get into everything, your shirts, boots, pants.” 

   “Leeches were a problem when you were crossing rice patties.  We burned them off with cigarettes.  If you pulled them off they ripped off portions of your skin so you had to burn them off.  Guys would be spreading their cheeks having other guys inspecting their asses.”  

   “Through it all I had a great time, yahoo.   I was the patrol leader-getting to hand pick my guys;that worked out pretty well.”

   “Then there was the night I spent a million bucks.  We thirteen guys on patrol set up an L shaped ambush-half covered the river trail and the other half covered the river bank.  Half the guys took a  snooze while half watched.”

  “Around 0200 hours one of the guys woke me up and said we had action on the other side of the river.  On the other side of the river we had a platoon sized group of VC’s -around eighty guys.  So, my choice we can hit 'em or not ambush.  Everyone was raring to go and we’d been a little bored anyway so we thought-we’ll hit 'em.  So I got on the radio advised base that we were going to hit them so we needed air cover.”  

Breaking News!

Another grandchild was born yesterday.  It's a girl and her name is Willow.  I might have to start a book involving all eight grandchildren now.

Books

I just finished reading the newest William Kent Krueger book,  Windigo Island.  I enjoyed it a lot and heartily recommend it for lovers of Minnesota authors who include local areas in their writings. I've now started Trickster's Point, another Krueger novel that features private detective Cork O'Conner. Loving this one as well.