Almost Home
The bus ride that never ends.36 total reviews
Comment from Sherry Asbury
You write as if you were on the bus. Honest, straightforward, and sincere.
I was a veteran of a far different war - one with an abuser who was my husband. I came home from North Carolina on a bus very much like that one, crowded with humanity and no place to sit where someone would not bump my beaten body. I rejoiced - I was free. Such a very good story, sir.
reply by the author on 07-Nov-2021
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You write as if you were on the bus. Honest, straightforward, and sincere.
I was a veteran of a far different war - one with an abuser who was my husband. I came home from North Carolina on a bus very much like that one, crowded with humanity and no place to sit where someone would not bump my beaten body. I rejoiced - I was free. Such a very good story, sir.
Comment Written 21-Oct-2021
reply by the author on 07-Nov-2021
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Thank you, Sherry, for your review and understanding. I am sorry you can relate to a similar event. I am sure you are now in a better place and much wiser. Thank you again for surviving. Rad.
Comment from Cathy M
I fell in love with this short story. I had an uncle who never came back from Vietnam and have several of my kid's friends who served in the Gulf. The PTSD they suffer and the acceptance they have are eloquently spoken here. Thank you for sharing this. I always felt terrible for the awful homecoming the Vietnam Vets received.
reply by the author on 07-Nov-2021
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I fell in love with this short story. I had an uncle who never came back from Vietnam and have several of my kid's friends who served in the Gulf. The PTSD they suffer and the acceptance they have are eloquently spoken here. Thank you for sharing this. I always felt terrible for the awful homecoming the Vietnam Vets received.
Comment Written 21-Oct-2021
reply by the author on 07-Nov-2021
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Thank you, Cathy, for your very generous review and insight and compassion for veterans and their struggles. Many times, while the citizen lives in freedom, the veteran lives in bondage and captivity. There is no easy solution other than the plain hard truth. Rad.
Comment from AliMom
Wow! Powerful writing. Very sensuous, very moving. I feel as if I am inside your main character. I feel his trauma, his near-schizophrenic outlook on life, his questioning who he was and who he is, and his adaptation to reality - which reality? You have created an amazing three-dimensional character and placed him in what for the rest of us would be an ordinary situation surrounding him with comrades who are simultaneously moving independently and yet jointly through their own experiences. Amazing!
reply by the author on 07-Nov-2021
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Wow! Powerful writing. Very sensuous, very moving. I feel as if I am inside your main character. I feel his trauma, his near-schizophrenic outlook on life, his questioning who he was and who he is, and his adaptation to reality - which reality? You have created an amazing three-dimensional character and placed him in what for the rest of us would be an ordinary situation surrounding him with comrades who are simultaneously moving independently and yet jointly through their own experiences. Amazing!
Comment Written 20-Oct-2021
reply by the author on 07-Nov-2021
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Thank you, ALiMom, for your very generous review and compassionate insight. You had to be on the bus after a year in 'Nam to experience the transition. I tried to memorialize the moment with truth and respect. I regret I did not write it sooner. Rad.
Comment from L. Kalere
For those of us (most of us) who have never been to war, or even the military this is a real eye-opener to the soldier's psyche. I'm going to assume that you were able to write this with such depth of understanding that you must have lived some, or all of it. What a terrible thing we expect of these young men, it's no wonder so many end up with emotional problems, including homelessness. The paragraph that begins with "Humidity, jungle foliage... is more free verse than prose, and is quite impressive. Thanks for keeping their stories alive.
Linda
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The highest and the lowest rating are not included in calculations.
reply by the author on 07-Nov-2021
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For those of us (most of us) who have never been to war, or even the military this is a real eye-opener to the soldier's psyche. I'm going to assume that you were able to write this with such depth of understanding that you must have lived some, or all of it. What a terrible thing we expect of these young men, it's no wonder so many end up with emotional problems, including homelessness. The paragraph that begins with "Humidity, jungle foliage... is more free verse than prose, and is quite impressive. Thanks for keeping their stories alive.
Linda
This rating does not count towards story rating or author rank.
The highest and the lowest rating are not included in calculations.
Comment Written 20-Oct-2021
reply by the author on 07-Nov-2021
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Thank you, LK, for your review, understanding and compassion. I will continue to write. Rad.
Comment from Carol Hillebrenner
This is probably the best description of how it felt to return to the US after so long in the jungles and war. You have laden this account with so much pathos and reality that I suspect you had to have been there. If you weren't you are a master of writing.
reply by the author on 20-Oct-2021
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This is probably the best description of how it felt to return to the US after so long in the jungles and war. You have laden this account with so much pathos and reality that I suspect you had to have been there. If you weren't you are a master of writing.
Comment Written 20-Oct-2021
reply by the author on 20-Oct-2021
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Thank you Carol, I am grateful to be recognized as a writer. A master writer? I hope to some day reach journeyman status and present prose that touches.
As for Vietnam? Yes, I spent 19months operating a 31ft fast attack gun boat (PBR) in the Mekong Delta. Your review has truly touched me. Thank you.
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I thought your stories about the boat on the Mekong were about you.
Comment from Elizabeth Emerald
SSSSSStupendous. Compelling narration and brilliant mathematical metaphor take this over the top. SSSSSStunning piece. CheerSSSSSS. LIZ
bus bathed by parking lot lighting welcomed the borders=>boarders
duffle-bag=>pref. duffel bag
black and white=>black-and-white tachometer
the bus hit an uncaring dip in the road sugg: COMMA jerking the soldier's heads.
reply by the author on 20-Oct-2021
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SSSSSStupendous. Compelling narration and brilliant mathematical metaphor take this over the top. SSSSSStunning piece. CheerSSSSSS. LIZ
bus bathed by parking lot lighting welcomed the borders=>boarders
duffle-bag=>pref. duffel bag
black and white=>black-and-white tachometer
the bus hit an uncaring dip in the road sugg: COMMA jerking the soldier's heads.
Comment Written 20-Oct-2021
reply by the author on 20-Oct-2021
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Thank you Liz, glad to see there is still someone who understands binary math/metaphor.
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I don't understand it; just familiar with the terms!