poilu Kleh Ver ~ When I was a solider in the French Infantry, back in WWI, we used to eat the most gosh awful things you can think of. I won't even start on what some of them were: let's just say that they hadn't been dead long and they weren't cooked real good, you know what I mean? Well, any way, there was this one time that my platoon was marchin' through this farm and the guy next to me elbowed me softly to get my attention. He motioned with a nod of his head to the house. As I looked up, I saw the most beautiful girl I had ever seen standing on the porch with the sunset catchin' her eyes just right. I could've sworn that she smiled at me, too. Man oh, man, I could've died right then 'cause I didn't think life could get any better than that. But it did. . . Our commanding officer said that we were goin' to make camp on the farm for the night. I had all these crazy ideas that I could sneak up to her window just to talk with her, or write some kind of sweet note promising I'd be back when I could. But that was shattered when the C.O. came up to me and said that he had a special assignment for me. I lost hope at this point of ever getting to see her again being that we were going to leave that next morning, if not sooner. I was wallowing in self-pity when I noticed that he was leading me up to the house. Turns out that the C.O. and I had been invited to dinner and it was the girl that had asked, specifically, if I could join the C.O.! I was on cloud nine all the way through dinner. Not only did they treat us to a thick stew made of rice, chicken, and small game, but I sat right across from the girl. The girl and I never said a word to one another all through dinner because the conversation was dominated by the man of the house talking with the C.O. about our campaign. He told us that he and his family were from the southern part of the U.S. and had recently moved here, to France. But, the war was making him reconsider staying here. He was fairly confident that they would move back to the states. That made the matter of making a lasting impression on the girl that much more urgent. After the wonderful meal, I finally saw my chance coming. The two men were standing to retire to the living room and the girl and I were about to speak our very first words to one another, save introductions, when a private stormed in the house shouting for the C.O. After a few hushed whispers, the C.O. thanked the lady of the house for dinner, shook the man's hand, and excused himself and me: and we left. I never made it back to the house before the war ended. . . She had moved back. . . I never saw her again. . . I'll never forget that day. . . ~ 021210 ... ferret Wow, that's deep 030412 ... scuzz That girl moved back to the states shortly after your departure, and I'll tell you this. She left something behind for you, in that old cidar house. I told her I'd save it for you, but she left too soon for parting kisses, and my promise is now left on my own soul. I regret to inform you that she spend the last years of her life searching for her lost soldier, but never found you. I'm sure you think of her every day in days gone by, and as her father, I cry. I can only hope that you might come back to that old cidar house, where you can still find her pages of letters, though crisp from years of missing you. 030420 what's it to you? who go blather from