bardsmaid (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} bardsmaid) wrote,@ 2008-05-26 09:53:00 |
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Memorial Day
Headstone sinking into luxuriant spring growth at the landmark
Eugene Masonic Cemetery.
On occasions like this, I always end up thinking about the casualties of war to whom we give little thought: those who have experienced combat and return to carry with them a burden of memory other people will never see, a burden most of us are ignorant of and frankly, most of the time, don't care to know about. This inevitable imprinting is the hidden cost that members of Congress and an outraged citizenry don't count when making the decision to send other people's sons and daughters off into battle. Yet it exists, powerfully shaping the lives of those who have fought and touching those with whom they come into contact.
In honor of the occasion, two stories dealing with the aftermath of war, original fiction from my pre-fandom days:
Reunion - Months after returning from Vietnam, a nurse and a helicopter mechanic meet up in the sometimes harrowing world of ordinary life.
Harvest Moon - Years after the war is over, a tragic accident brings unresolved memories to the surface.
I thought this second story was going to be about the teenager we see at the beginning, but it turned out to revolve around something else entirely. Old memories don't fade away. They sink below the surface until we fall into the holes they create in our lives.
As usual with my stories, trauma laced with hope.
Headstone sinking into luxuriant spring growth at the landmark
Eugene Masonic Cemetery.
On occasions like this, I always end up thinking about the casualties of war to whom we give little thought: those who have experienced combat and return to carry with them a burden of memory other people will never see, a burden most of us are ignorant of and frankly, most of the time, don't care to know about. This inevitable imprinting is the hidden cost that members of Congress and an outraged citizenry don't count when making the decision to send other people's sons and daughters off into battle. Yet it exists, powerfully shaping the lives of those who have fought and touching those with whom they come into contact.
In honor of the occasion, two stories dealing with the aftermath of war, original fiction from my pre-fandom days:
Reunion - Months after returning from Vietnam, a nurse and a helicopter mechanic meet up in the sometimes harrowing world of ordinary life.
Harvest Moon - Years after the war is over, a tragic accident brings unresolved memories to the surface.
I thought this second story was going to be about the teenager we see at the beginning, but it turned out to revolve around something else entirely. Old memories don't fade away. They sink below the surface until we fall into the holes they create in our lives.
As usual with my stories, trauma laced with hope.
