“Yeah, once I was climbing and I zippered down about 65 feet,” the soldier said. “I was in ranger school at the time, you had to climb up this thing, they starve you and all and I was just about to the top, I just had a couple feet to go and I so tired rather than… (I don’t remember… put in another piton??) I just leaped the last couple feet and was hanging there by my hands on the ledge. The instructor was standing right there with his feet between my two hands. I was just hangin’ and he was looking down at me.”

“Yeah?” (swearing below the break)

“Yeah and I said… help me. And he went like this,” he said slowly shaking his head back and forth. “To hell with you. He wasn’t going to help me so I tried to get up but I just couldn’t do it so I fell.. bam into the rocks!” he said swinging his arm down in an arc. “Piton came out… bam against the rocks again, another piton came out. Bam, bam, bam. Down I went, I slammed into the mountain 3 or 4 times.”

“What happened to you?”

“Knocked the living shit out of myself. I was was fucked up.”

“Um.”

“Yeah, I was beat to shit but the worst thing is I still have to climb the damned thing.”

“Wrecked like that you have to climb back up?”

“Of course. That or quit which they invite you to do all the time. Plus they throw shit at you the whole time you’re climbing, tell you why don’t you quit you pussy! They toss pebbles down and hit you in the head. Tell you, I was fuckin’ your old lady last night - stuff like that. And pretty soon you’re down there sayin’ yeah I’ll quit. But not before I get up there and kill me a motherfuckin’ ranger instructor son-of-a-bitch.”

“I see.”

“Anyway, I ran into another ranger, a young ranger in the gym today,” he said.

“Yeah? How?”

“Recognized one of my tattoos. Yeah, he’s just a kid. Yeah, he’s an engineer, he works there. Yep, he’s got no one to talk to… he’s as out of place as I am.”

“Works there..?’

Come to find out I know the guy too, I’ve known him for years. He is the most mild-mannered, soft-spoken man you could possibly imagine, long ponytail hanging down, a soft featured face. You’d never in a million years guess he’s been through this type of training.

I can’t wait to see him and tell who I go with. He’s going to flip his lid.