this is it

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Last night, watching a TV show about the Vietnam war, there was one veteran of the bloody La Drang Valley battle who caught my ear. I cannot quote his words directly, but what he said in essence was that there are some situations in life from which no one can escape ... there is no way to stand aloof ... you are in it and there is no way out: This ... is ... it! You are consumed and cast aside by the events that unfold. No way out any more than there is any way in.

He was referring to the battle he had lived through and so many others had not. His face was screwed on tight as he did his best to convey the horror and fear and confusion and noise and ... and ... inescapability. It was impossible not to see a man doing his utmost against insurmountable odds ... to convey an experience that had left him forever changed.

The cacophony and horror of war may seem huge by comparison to the way those who have not experienced it live. There is simply no comparison ....

Or is there?

Every moment is the same, isn't it? Not in the sense that every moment is necessarily terrifying, but in the sense that there really is no way to stand aloof or escape. This ... is ... it.

And the sooner anyone takes on that responsibility, the sooner the happiness they seek is likely to be realized, I'd say.
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