He was explaining to me how he had decided to join the Army.  We were hiking in the mountains.  I could tell that he didn't want my opinion; he was trying to tell me what he had decided to do.

I halted, bent down, and said "Stand right there for a moment."  I made a mark in the dust.  "Now walk one big step down the trail, and stand."   I drew a line in the dust where he had walked, and made another mark near his heel.  "Now take three more steps."  I continued the line, and made the final mark.

"Good," I said.  "Now we may continue."

"But what's that?"

"Let's continue walking."

A minute later I stopped.  "OK. That line with the marks represents your life.  The first interval along the line is what you've already lived, and the second longer one is what you can expect from the future."

"Oh."

He was good at humoring me, and he must have known I was giving a message, in  my cryptic way, for him to figure out.

Soon he stopped, and looked back at his "life's line," now barely visible.

We continued, but again he slowed, then stood still.  And began to cry.

That was many years ago.   He didn't join the Army!

This site opened:  November 17, 1998.   Last Update: November 17, 1998