early afternoon thoughts.

dear all. last night I stumbled across a fellow proser's post that kept me reading long past i should! I am talking about @Jimlamb and his vietnam war memories.

so first, congratulations to you , Mr. Lamb for getting published. i read the excerpts from your book, and hope i'll be able to read more in the future. your memories of serving in the navy, and the vietnam war were eerily relatable, though i've not served in the navy and never even visited vietnam.

many stories and experiences you had and wrote about happened almost exactly the same to me.

but what really struck a chord with me is what you talk about in the end. the subject of closure. i think that closure, as a moment in time , where painful events in life suddenly become "sloved", is a historic mistake of the literary world, that infected the rest of humanity like s virus. some people appear to be immune to this bolderdash. perhaps it's because they've been through enough in their lives to know a lie when they see it.

i wish sonetimes that i had closure for a lot of things. or conversly, that i had that "immunity" for ever wanting it. there are many things that i regret, or i wish happened differently, so many relations with other people that could have been much better. but you can't undo things, and there are things that will forever leave their mark. like a scar. they will heal to the point that you will be able to function well, they will teach you a thing or three. but they will always be waiting, in one way or another to give you a reminder of the pain and regret you once felt deeply.

the details of how we came by our individual scars are varied and perhaps, on a some level , they are not so important (though they definitely are to those that carry them). what is very important is to see that everyone is a member in this club. we are all citizens of the nation of scars. everyone we meet has them, and it is up to us to find in ourselves this sameness. the scars, like a vast tuning fork, resonate to the right frequancy. the painful ringing that they cause can be absorbed and comforted, or they can erupt and discharge hatred.

this quaratine i'm in, is not easy. but the period that will come later will be much harder, I feel. people will lose loved ones, people will become desperate. many future-scars are being cut and bleeding right now. knowing this, we are left to rely on our past scars to cushion future ones. but of course if we find empathy to others, and get those inner scars throbbing, we can do something about it.

wow. i might have mixed up my similies, but i hope it works. ..

keep safe and stay strong and productive. and cudos to Jim Lamb again for his book!