Et tu Deja vu?

by C.W.Smoke

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Look! There they are again inside my TV. Little people in little boxes...

There's a picture of The President, but where's his table, the one with the options on it.

"That lyin' draft-dodger's gone and done it this time..."

"...he can't wage war without leaving all his options on the table."

See? Where's the table? They never show it. It's not fair.

Now, here's the ones I like. The generals. They retired because they hate war. That's what they all say, that they hate war. Too bad, I say. I bet they could've fixed everything. They're so smart. They have all the answers. Just listen...

"...devastating, overweening, crushing force. The only way to fight a war..."

"...can't choose targets by committee..."

"Don't start unless you can finish..."

"...sure as hell don't tell your opponent what you're about to do unless, of course, you tell him that you're going to crush him, grind him up..."

See? Little generals inside my TV. I told you! Too bad they're all retired. Those generals sure know what to do.

Aw-oh! Watch out! Be careful! There's the really bad guy again. Why do the others let him inside my TV? I don't like him. He does mean things. He's not nice.

"...butcher, thug, war criminal..."

"...NATO must stop his depredations..."

"...unavoidable collateral damage..."

Oh no! Now there's two women crying. They're hugging each other, and tears are running down their cheeks. They're so sad. Look! The photographers are all clicking away with their cameras. No! Get away! It's not right to take their pictures now. Get away!

Look! There's the little refugee girl who got separated from her mom. She's five. I see her a lot.

"She is the face of Kosovo..."

"...this little girl who wins the hearts of everyone she meets sings of her homeland. Now she adds her own words..."

"...my dearest Daddy how could you leave me here like this?"

I like her. She's always smiling because her mom and dad will find her pretty soon. She sings to the soldiers when they come to visit, and she draws pretty pictures of her house and her mom and dad while she's waiting. Too bad she can't remember where she left her mom. That sure would speed up the happy ending. But I can't be mad at her for not remembering. I can't remember either. About how I wound up in this wheelchair. The nurses think that maybe it's the metal plate inside my head. They try to help, but they just aren't smart like the generals.

Oh, didn't I tell you? We've got generals here too. I know, because one came to see me yesterday. He came into my room and shook my hand and saluted and gave me a box with a pretty purple ribbon in it. He said I did a splendid job. I guess I must have because generals don't lie, but I still can't remember.

Lucky we've got our own generals here, or those little box-people inside my TV might get me upset.

End

Written during the Kosovo action while glued to the tube for a week
with influenza and a one-hundred-and-four degree fever.
And I wouldn't change a word...

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