"Pretty Persuasion" R.E.M. Update

Reckoning was one of the albums I used to play on repeat-- that and Murmur. Those early albums were spot on. The guitar has a signature sound frozen in time-- 1984. I came back today and played the whole album. 7 Chinese Brothers--- man. I'll post it as well. Such great new wave music came out of the 80's and I loved the shit out of it.

Who shall I write about today? I had someone in mind, but it's a long story with an interesting end and I am pressed for time today. I read something that stuck with me--

Retirement is not an ending

It is a transition.

And identity is not fixed.

It evolves.

I hope that I am intentionally building my next identity.

I think I am .

I have to come back to this post... ok, back. On tonight's agenda in Spiritworld will be Brandy and Other Fruit Based Spirits. We are down to just 3 on the call, and have all been spending every Tuesday night together since August. You would think there would be more comraderie but these people are stiffs. I get drunk with strangers and feel like I'm the only one who is having fun. Oh well.

Confessions of THE THEOLOGIAN

This goes back to high school. At the time I didn't know anything about the Law of Attraction, and still don't really. But it seems that is what happened here. My best friend at the time was bi-curious guy pal (we were always paired together in shows- since fifth grade, so we got to know each other well-- he was my dance partner in show choir as well. Also, he was born October 5, so you know it was fated). Anyway, we were seniors and there was some school wide convocation we all attended. As we were leaving, we both saw THE THEOLOGIAN. He was a lovely, tall, thin fair haired, blue-eyed darling. I think both of us gasped as he passed us by. My guy pal stated that he was going to find out who he was. Not before I do! So it became a bit of a competition.

I ended up winning, but only because THE THEOLOGIAN and I were in a show together (One where I had to strip down to a negligee onstage-- the 80's, right?). He introduced me to so much music-- and deep dive into U2, The Call, Sting's Bring on the Night, Amnesty International concerts like Secret Policeman's Ball. It was 1987 and we drove in his green vintage beamer, drank IBC rootbeer and played Paul Simon's Graceland and U2's Joshua Tree. He was a devout Christian, and he took me to his church's youth group bible study a few times. After one session I told my parents they were fakers and frauds-- not real Christians.

That went over well.

But school was almost over and I was headed to IU while he stayed at home. We stayed friends and wrote letters back and forth- and he said he met someone. She happened to live in my cul-de-sac. I hated those holidays that first year when I would come home to see his car in her driveway. Blue eyed boy with this Brown eyed girl-- the sweetest thing

I still can't listen to that song.

After graduation, THEOLOGIAN went to Taylor U to study theology and then later Seattle School of Theology and Psychology. I am pretty sure he came out as gay. Or celibate. I wonder when he finally stopped dating women. I am sure that was a struggle.

And I thought the reason we only got to 1st base was because of his beliefs.

"Melissa" Allman Brothers Band

One of my all-time favorite songs. I never really listened to the lyrics until today. The words seemed somewhat appropriate.

Today's Confession I'll call THE PEDANTIC

I met THE PEDANTIC you guessed it, on an educational trip to Rome, London, Paris, Normandy and Florence. I was a chaperone taking my first trip with students oveseas and learning the ropes so that in the future, I could be in charge of organizing and eventually leading more trips. THE PEDANTIC was also on tour leading his own group and so our groups were combined. The PEDANTIC was from Upstate New York and was recently divorced. His sister was also on tour as a chaperone. He was all swagger and of course all the high school girls swooned over him. His doting, protective sister had Resting Bitch Face-- well, actually she was a total bitch, so it was just Bitch Face to me.

I am not sure when things started-- on these trips you are constantly on the move and communicating with tour guides and such. But since we were taking a bus to different countries, there was plenty of drive time to get to know people. THE PEDANTIC taught AP European History and liked to enlighten everyone who would listen to all of his embellished facts. He also used words incorrectly like IRREGARDLESS. Ugh.

The sister did not like me. And she made it abundantly clear. Still, we managed to go off on our own to explore cities. In Florence, we got lost down alleyways holding hands and finding secluded restaurants to kiss and drink wine.

Our last night in London, my group had to leave at 2 AM and his at 4 AM- we stayed up talking and kissing. But what do you do when the trip is over? We did the long distance calling thing. He suggested we both buy a copy of The Kama Sutra and would read it over the phone (I didn't have a smart phone with facetime) to each other. He would fly down to visit and come to school with me and hang out with the other Euro teacher through the day. He talked about moving to BTown and going back to school It wasn't practical, as he had 3 boys and one had a serious learning disability. He shared that he grew up in poverty and would sometimes have to go without or sell belongings for the family to get by. He told me about Marshmallow Fluff and how you add it to peanut butter and put it on bread. That's what he would eat as a child.

THE PEDANTIC didn't last long-- because how could it, really? But he burned me to my core. He told me that he met a woman doctor in a Starbucks and they were getting married. Fools Rush In.

"In a Broken Dream" Python Lee Jackson vocals Rod Stewart (1972)

Sometimes going back to a tune like this is just the salve for the heart chakra. It's a peaceful, quiet morning and I am watching the rain fall from my office, window open and breeze blowing. I should be studying, but I want to put on some records and read instead.

My girl is coming over today! I was going to take her to her first Hash this afternoon, but I don't want to injure myself (or herself) if we hash in rough terrain and take a tumble. Bummer.

Going back through these confessions, I really hope folks don't think I am a terrible witch. Or a clueless bimbo. Maybe I was clueless at 18, but this is just the moasic of my dating life in snapshots. To be fair, I have met men whose scent attracted me to them bigtime. I just know there is a particular pheromone smell or smells (maybe it's a dominate alpha scent?) that don't/doesn't work for me personally.

late night feature

I woke up (well, the cats woke me up) thinking about this Confession and the concept of Pheromones. And this confession is a case AGAINST certain smells for me. I have met maybe 4-5 men that reek of a Musky smell that is so strong I could not date them. As physically/intellectually attracted to them as I may have been, I couldn't get past their smell.

And it isn't something you can say while trying to break it off. " I can't stand the smell of you.." That would devastate. So this one I will call THE BOOKEND

We met in college--had a casual date senior year and as luck would have it, landed at the same hotel in Daytona for spring break. I was on a break from THE SOLDIER and just wanted to have a good time with my roommates for our last hurrah. But THE BOOKEND was persistant, and he kissed me that first night at the wet t-shirt contest ( of which my roommate won) and NO, I didn't participate!. I wanted nothing to do with him down in Florida. I have a picture of him somewhere on that first night in Daytona-- crazy times in a white t-shirt. He was cute, but the musky smell...

Decades later, I taught his eldest daughter in school. She was a comedic genius and I helped her through stuff while her parents (THE BOOKEND) were getting divorced. I had no idea that her dad was this guy I went out with in college. No idea. He showed up to one of her shows and re-introduced himself to me. After she graduated, he asked me out and we dated about a month. He said I was the last woman he kissed before he met his wife and the first woman he kissed after he got divorced from his wife.

It sounds so poetic. I just couldn't get past the musky smell.

He married a girl from his high school that he knew. I think they are well.

I guess her pheromone radar isn't as sensitive as mine. In fact, maybe she likes it!

"Guess I'm Doing Fine" Beck

Sea Change is a masterful work of art. He wrote it after a breakup with his longtime fiance. I saw Beck open for The Flaming Lips with this album. I was pregnant with Lilly and very depressed. This album captures my mood right now. Take a listen to the whole thing if you have some time. I, with all of the best intentions want to share these intimate parts and songs that are beautiful and heartbreaking and sometimes inspiring. My hope is you can hear them in the same way I do.

Guess I'm Doing Fine

Lately everything is making me angry. People, bad drivers, the cats, loud unexpected noises, the fucking news, my scale, my body, getting parking tickets, stupid, pointless conversations, wasted time, shit that needs to be done around the house, banality..

I did manage to run the full seven miles for this week--twice. It's the only thing that gets me out of my head these days. I say to myself, "This is what mile 1 feels like. Oh, this is what mile 3 feels like, I have to pee, This is what mile 6 feels like, I can no longer feel my legs, Nothing hurts, I am not feeling anything right now."

I wish I wasn't feeling anything right now.

"Sunken Treasure" Wilco

There is no sunken treasure/ rumored to be/ wrapped inside my ribs/ in a sea black with ink/

I am so out of tune with you

I've been feeling out of tune. I am creating distractions. I AM doing the work-- but I am impatient. I crave answers. I seek affirmations. I desire feedback. Yes or No. Tell me the dates. Live up to your promises. Do you job. Put in the time and the work. Know your truth. Help me to understand. See Me.

I'm challenging some of the social constructs and conventionalities of certain ideas. But the people I commune with wouldn't understand because they are part of those systems. So I keep it to myself. It's a lot to carry around. And the heaviness is too much.

Today I got up early and worked out (I work at 11 today). I love driving in the early morning when the grass is dewey and the fog obstructs the view. Upon my return home driving East I came home to this (see below). Of course, the pictures never do the landscape justice, but it was a glorious sight to see.

Anyway, miss you.

"Skateaway" Dire Straits and Mark Knopfler

I think Mark Knopfler is the bomb. And to think I was this close to joining the Roller Derby. My name was going to be Teeny Mussolini. Those bouts were a hoot to watch! I think the main reason I didn't join was I didn't want to lose my teeth!

This Confession really stemmed from skating. My first slow dance on the skating rink from the church youth group outing and the song was "Endless Love". He was a boy from church I met at a Lock In. Remember those? I'll bet they don't have those anymore. Too dangerous! I can't even say that we dated because I was in sixth grade--he was in seventh. He'd call and there would be dead air for long periods of time on the line. I dreaded those calls.

We were both cross country runners, so sometimes we went running. He told me I had an unsexy walk. Dude, I'm eleven years old! It's something you don't forget.

Sixth grade was vicious. I was still wearing my hair in pony tails. I wore my blonde hair down only one day-- picture day and everyone flipped out. We moved from our elementary school to the junior high and my safe bubble of friends were scattered. My homeroom had a lot of the popular kids in it. I rememeber the boys in our class came up with a ranking system for all the girls in the class on how hot we were. The girl who was a ten had the biggest boobs in the class.

I was a six.

There was a red haired freckly ruddy football player who seemed to be the ring leader of our class. He called me ugly to my face. Andy Knapp. Yep, I will name names this time. Thanks Andy for that. I just looked him up on the Facebook. So dumb he doesn't know how to make his posts private. He looks like a big douche.

By the way, after sixth grade, my lucky number has always been six.

"Lawman" Gillian Welch and Dave Rawlins

Here's my vibe today. Chill.

I've noticed that my songs aren't able to play lately. I've got to figure out that glitch. The past few songs I have posted are beautiful eclectic melodies.

The earth is waking up and it brings me joy. Is it weird that the smell of someone cutting their grass makes me so happy?

And don't get me started on the smell of chlorine for the pool! The windows are open and the fresh air soothes my soul.

Today's confession: THE GEARHEAD

Wednesdays used to be my radio show-therapy- and then wine bar night. B-town had an awesome wine bar that offered live music and tapas and an atmosphere beyond compare. It was my favorite spot to decompress, meet friends and spill the tea, or to celebrate big victories. I knew the owners and most of the bartenders ( most of them were music majors or opera singers bc they could pronounce some of the foreign wines correctly). I was still married when I started going to Tuto. So the bar got me through the rough times and then the aftermath. At the time, my hair salon was located downstairs, and I suggested to the owners of both places to offer glasses of wine to women getting their hair done. I recall a sad day when I was getting my hair done and working through hard stuff that I sat in the chair and sobbed. My stylist didn't say anything, she just let me cry. It might have been not long after I fled the house to a nearby neighbor and spent the night in the women's shelter. She didn't make me pay for the cut. She just gave me a hug and sent me on my way.

Whooosh. Where did that memory come from?

So GEARHEAD worked in IT for IU and had all the gadgets and wore them proudly. He had the phone thing that attached to your ear and he wore those toe shoes. He was a smartie but was a little off, maybe on the spectrum. I wasn't attracted to him in the slightest. But he was a wine drinker and he had a wad of cash. Oh, and his birthday fit into the December 4 people (remember what I said about meeting people around certain dates? yeah.) Gearhead would meet me at Tuto on Wednesdays (that was the only time we really ever hung out) and we would have a few and then go back to my place, where he would bring over several bottles of expensive reds.

I woke up many a Thursday morning with a massive hangover back in those days.

Again, it wasn't as if we were a couple, although I am sure he would have wanted more. I don't think he was able to express feelings very well, and in my state at the time, I wouldn't know how to deal with them.

One time when I was really sad, he took me to a nail salon. I think it was when the Colts were going to the Superbowl. He brought a bottle of champagne and we both got pedicures. he had his toes painted with Colts colors---blue and white.

Thing about him-- he didn't live far from my Westminster condo, so he would walk home after a night of debauchery. He never let me in his house. Never suggested we go to his place. I wonder if it was a total mess or what. I always wondered about that.

So after Tuto closed and we were donesville, he started to hang out as a regular at THE DAD'S haunt. I always wondered if they ever talked about me. I'm sure they did. That feels dirty.

I have never seen GEARHEAD with a woman since and feel bad for him. I have that effect on men that get too close to the flame. Did I break him? I'm so sorry.

"Elegantly Wasted" Hermanos Gutierrez featuring Leon Bridges

I really dig this song. It was playing on my way to the Y this morning. A beautiful sexy song. Enjoy!

My new glasses make me look like a combination of Rachel Maddow, Jamie Lee Curtis and Macaulay Culkin's younger brother, Kieran in Home Alone where he plays Kevin's nerdy cousin!

Today I ventured out to try a new winery up in Bargersville of all places. Most of these Indiana wineries cater to the sweet fruit wine drinkers, but this one had a few dry wines that were palatable. The vibe was chill and the place also offered a soup and charcuterie in what appeared to be an old barn at one time. The Mallow Run Winery sits out on a large patch of land with a small music venue. I would say this would be a perfect first date kind of place. The homemade jalepeno cheddar bread was amazing (even if I am in training) I tried it anyway.

Man, what a feeling to not have to prepare for school on a Sunday and just enjoy the beautiful spring day without the Sunday Scaries! I know my theatre friends are under serious pressure and stress right now. Big Love to them as they gear up for the big show of their seasons.

As for me, I focus on training. I will attempt 7-8 miles tomorrow. I had an easy 1 mile run today with 5 minute intervals after and a hard lift. I feel strong. I feel good. But I desperately need to up my mileage this month. NO EXCUSES!

"You and We" Jose Gonzalez

I stumbled across this beautiful little melody this morning. I don't even know this artist, but I like what I am hearing. It's a simple song but it lifts the spirits. Take a listen.

It is a cold and rainy spring day here in the mid-west. I am feeling a touch lazy but content. It has been a wild 8 months. I am coming up on the anniversay of my retirement in May. I really didn't feel "retired" until August, when everyone went back to school, so I am not counting the first 3 months--summer vacation, don't you know?

Man, it has been nothing like what I pictured it would be. You really cannot plan your life precisely. I am looking back at the goals I set pre-retirement and much of it didn't play out the way I thought it would. Still, I can cross things off my bucket list and I have seen some great shows, great cities, and had some adventures to boot.

goal 1: Train for the Mini Marathon.

This has been the most challenging but the most positive goal that I have been working on. It stalled out at the beginning of summer with injuries that I have felt off target ever since. But I went from 153 pounds and not being able to run a mile to now 128 pounds and can walk/run 6 miles. I have a month to go, and I need to keep up the pace.

goal 2: Find Purposful Work

This goal didn't play out exactly as I thought it would. But there must be other things in the mix that have not yet been revealed to me. Still, working the long-term sub gig has been extremely fufilling and has kept me connected with the one steady in my life- my-school. I have another long term position set for the month of May through the end of the school year. Here's hoping my other side gig will offer me some work travel opportunities this summer.

goal 3: Create Art

While on a work trip, I came across a picture hanging in the lobby of a hotel that inspired me. Since then, I have created 3 pieces and have started a 4th.

I have been writing every day since January. It's obviously not much substance, but it is an exercise in repetition that is a good outlet for me. My creativity was key to life as a teacher, and I need that to be ever present now. I also need to get back into playing my guitars. I have not been working on my house projects as much as I had hoped--plus with less money it's hard to justify creating a beautiful space right now. Someday soon.

Here are other cool things I have done in the past 10 months:

Visited Madison, WI, Orlando, FL, St. Louis, MO, Corydon, IN, Louisville, KY, Columbus, OH, Washington, D.C., Chicago, IL, Muncie, IN, Pasadena, CA

Saw Eric Clapton, Jeff Tweedy, Gillian Welch, Jim Gaffigan, Nate Bargetzie, and a Candlelight Christmas Carol concert, did the traditional Nutcracker Ballet-- will see Andrew Bird, Wilco and David Byrne in the upcoming months. I am also headed to Sonoma and taking the train to The Grand Canyon in May.

Visited various wineries and distilleries around Indiana and have tasted hundreds of different wines, beers and spirits for the completion of my Beverage Management Career Certificate, of which I have been taking classes since August. This experience has been a game changer for me and my knowledge of beer, wine and spirits.

Visited the Cave System of Southern Indiana

Decorated the White House for Christmas

Experienced a Professional Bull Riding Competition

Hiked the trails of Clifty Falls, Brown County St. Park, Dunes of Indiana

Saw a Cubs game in Wrigley Field

Joined a book club and have read 6 books (I know, not a lot, but for me it is!)

Ran a 5K Turkey Trot

Walked for Alzheimers

Went to 3 IU Football games and 5 IU Men's Basketball games

Toured The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Heard Pete Buttigieg speak at IU

Participated in the Womensbuild

I fixed my record player and am now playing vinyl!

Applied for a Legacy Award through Road Scholars (fingers crossed!)

"Make You Better" The Decemberists

Ahhh... nothing like sitting in a dim, windowless room with nothing but a computer screen and cinderblock walls on all sides. I don't know how someone could do this job day in, day out with basically no human interaction. And the interactions are with the kids who just got in trouble. Actually, I know most of them, so it's been ok.

I was looking for a band that I used to listen to back in the day. I remember how much I loved The Decemberists and saw them FRONT ROW at the Bus Chumb-- I even caught Colin's guitar pick at the show! So here's this one for today.

Who should I write about today? My Confession: THE HASHER

If you don't know (and most people don't) what a Hasher is or even what Hashing is, you'll just have to look it up. It's a whole thing to try to explain. I had been part of the our kennel for a year or so when THE HASHER joined our cozy big group. He looked exactly like Anderson Cooper (and he knew it too) and there wasn't a mirror he would walk past without preening himself. His former longtime girlfriend was a designer I used to work with but had lost touch with over the years. She was a beautiful and talented soul. (remember what i said about being too pretty/handsome?) If these two would have had children they would be beautiful-INSANE but beautiful.

THE HASHER was a major flirt and someone I would never usually date. He was like a rooster strutting around with his pecs out-- the best character I would say he reminded me of was Gaston from Beauty and the Beast. I remember how he would sweat profusley (doing anything-- I'll let you imagine) and after a run would like to strip down to practically nothing. If there was a hash with the end point being near water, he was the first to get naked and jump in. Another fun detail, at hashes, kilts were popular with many of the male attendees. THE HASHER didn't wear his tighty whities (or anything) under his kilt. Don't get me wrong, I'm not opposed to nakedness. But when you are outright flaunting it to everyone, it's a bit much.

Don't ask me what the attraction for me was to him. I think I liked that I was faster than he was. In fact, I was an FRB (front running bastard) and he couldn't keep up.

I stopped hashing because of him. And that wasn't fair. I was good and I enjoyed the challenge, the people and the beer. Maybe I'll get back into it now.

Suffice to say, our time together was short, as he was a swinger and I had my dignity. Last I heard, he hitched up with a fat bottomed girl (he was into big butts-- and, well, I am not well endowed) living off her income out West somewhere.

ON! ON!

"Jane" Bare Naked Ladies

Today's Confession: THE ATHLETE

This confession is a little fuzzy on dates and I can't even remember the last name of THE ATHLETE, but the details I do recall. Before I get to my confession, I wanted to share something that I have observed in my dating career and that is: NEVER DATE SOMEONE WHO YOU THINK IS BETTER LOOKING THAN YOU.

It's true. At least in my experiences. I think the rules aren't the same when finding a life partner--there are other factors to consider, but in this case if you are planning to reproduce, having an attractive spouse isn't a bad plan. Still, while dating, if you don't want to be dumped, cheated on or left heart-broken, you better be the more attractive in the relationship.

Now, please, don't think I am shallow. I am not. I have been there before. I was the ugly duckling. I am admitting it. Just stay with me, here.

I can think of other reasons that some of the guys I dated potentially left. Most of the time it had to do with not wanting to mess with a kid that wasn't theirs. I get that. It also seems that these guys were a handful of years younger than I was, and usually that is a turn off too (dating an older gal). Dating in my late 40's guys were always looking younger. And often times, MUCH YOUNGER. But I was in my 20's when I met this one, so this was pre-kid-prime time peak physique for me.

THE ATHLETE was better looking than me.

I mean, he was Adonis, and I was no Venus. Now, there's a sad story..Anyway, I was lifeguarding at the local gym in the summer months to make a little extra money but also, I was in training for a mini triathlon, so I was putting in the time. I met THE ATHLETE in the pool, as he would come in during my shift to swim laps. I'm talking ripped like I've never seen before. He was built like a brick shithouse. There was only one thing about him that was odd:

He only had one leg.

The story as he told it goes when he was a boy he grew up on a farm and would take the tractor out to mow or do fieldwork (again, some of it is fuzzy). One day while he was mowing, the tractor flipped and it severed his leg just above the knee. So he uses a prostetic. He was in school at the time and was planning to specialize in prostetics so he could help other patients who suffered like he did as a boy.

Pretty impressive story, to be sure. Sad thing, THE ATHLETE liked to just talk about his training, his diet, and even more boring, his past races. This was the 90's, before cell phones had great cameras, but I suffered through a few albums of race photos in other countries and here at home. Yikes!

I hope THE ATHLETE is out there doing what he set out to do and making people feel like they can recover from something so agonizing.

Wonder what his wife looks like...

"Portions for Foxes" Rilo Kiley

Another blast from the past-- I heard it on Sirus XM this weekend. This song rocks out.

It's bad news/baby I'm bad news/ I'm just bad news bad news bad news..

Last night in Spirits 101 I got to try 5 different gins. I am not a gin drinker, so this was quite an experience for me. I learned that I prefer Tanqueray over Bombay Sapphire, and Gordon's is absolute TRASH. Also, Aviation American Gin is a celebrity gin (Ryan Reynolds) and it is pretty darn good. Next week's spirit: Whiskey.

We are rivers, not straight lines. In Memoirs of a Geisha, the protagonist Sayuri is told she has "water" in her personality because she is fluid and adaptable, unlike her sister who is rooted like wood. A key quote regarding her nature is: "My mother always said my sister Satsu was like wood; as rooted to the earth as a sakura tree. But she told me I was like water. Water can carve its way even through stone...and when trapped, water makes a new path."

I'd like to think I am more like water.

Or Fire

Have you enjoyed the confessions? Which do you like best? I've got more to share if you'll let me. Let's see, today I'll share my Confession of THE SOLDIER

THE SOLDIER also lived in my childhood neighborhood, actually just around the corner from THE POET growing up. He was a grade lower than me. Back in high school he used to call my younger sister, who had no interest in him. Sometimes THE SOLDIER would call and she would have me talk to him, as we had very similar voices and he never knew it was me.

Nothing materialized from those talks for any of us. I was seeing someone at the time and had no interest in him back then. He was just a younger boy who had the hots for my little sister.

Flash Forward to my sophomore year in college, when Little 5 was amping up. I lived in a double single in Teter Quad, THE SOLDIER lived in Ashton, which was just across the street. FUN FACT: THE SHOWMAN also spent some time living in Ashton and I recall visiting his dorm room once. Small, disgusting world, isn't it? So this particular Little 5, I was dumped by THE ACTOR (more on him later) who pledged Phi Delt and thought the sorority girls were a step up from me, so THE SOLDIER and I started to hang out together.

We dated through college, with a few breakups here and there. I was lavaliered the fall of my senior year, and so we were what you would call serious. I decided to add a minor to my credentials in order to get a job faster, which made me have to stay in school an extra semester, so we graduated together.

He was in ROTC and did all the Airborne and Air Assult Camps for Officer Basic Training. THE SOLDIER was then stationed in Schweinfurt, Germany, set to leave just weeks after graduation. He offered me an engagement ring, but moving to Germany and living on an Army base was not in the cards for me. I wanted to live independently. I was too young to marry and felt that I needed to experience life on my own.

So I turned him down.

We kept in touch, and after my first year of teaching, I took a plane to Germany to see him. We traveled all over Europe-- Germany, Belgium, France, Netherlands in his little white BMW. It was a life changing experience, going to clubs in Amsterdam, drinking German beer with a spoon, visiting a death camp, driving across the Autobaun, seeing the Eiffel Tower and the Louve and Manneken Pis.

We both moved on with our lives, married, had kids. I would consider THE SOLDIER a great friend.

On the morning of my dad's funeral decades later, who walks into the church to pay his respects?

THE SOLDIER