Quietly, he sits in his wheel chair Missing one eye, one arm, and one leg "Could have been worse", he thinks "At least I can walk on one leg, use one arm, and see with one eye"
"Imagine losing two eyes, two arms, or two legs" "Or even two eyes, one arm, and one leg" "Or one eye, two arms, and one leg" "Or one eye, one arm, and two legs"
"But what would be the the worst case?" "Losing two eyes, two arms, and two legs?" "Or would the worst case be losing your face as well?" "Or would it be losing your dick?"
"How about losing only your face or your dick?" "How would that be?" "And who decides these things?" "Who sets it up?"
"I mean, who decides where the shrapnel hits?" "Who decides what, or who, it will take?" "An eye, an arm, a leg, a face, or a dick?" "One dead, two wounded, three OK"
He just sits there, with one eye, one arm, and one leg "At least they're balanced", he says out loud "Right arm, left leg, not so bad" "Wish I could get back to my unit"
His mother weeps "At least he's alive", she thinks His father, arm around her, says, "I'm proud that he did his job" His girlfriend, sitting nearby, wonders what it will be like
He returns to sitting quietly The TV is on The News reports that another Humvee has been hit by an IED He listens for unit designations and the names of friends
He fidgets in his wheel chair "My head hurts", he says He grabs the TV remote And turns to the Cartoon Channel
He starts to laugh uncontrollably Courage the Dog is being blown to bits on the TV He leans forward, laughing While his family sits back and watches, quietly
Jim Bush is a 61 year old, Vietnam-era veteran, currently living in Katy,Texas. He was raised in a military family. His father received the Silver Star for directing troops while under air attack at Clark Field in the Phillipines, survived the Bataan Death March, and spent three and a half years in a Japanese POW camp. He also received the Purple Heart for wounds received while a POW. Jim served as an army photographer in Okinawa and Korea. In 1987 he traveled to the war zones of Nicaragua with a veteran's group dedicated to stopping the Contra War.
