PINE NUTS: Flirting with Death
Flirting with death releases pheromones that make you feel more alive than before. Or as Winston Churchill put it, “Nothing in life is so exhilarating as to be shot at without result.” I’ve only had that feeling once in my life, but it proved true to form…
I got into a gunfight with a gentleman from North Vietnam, and he was as bad a shot as I was, thank goodness. We jumped around behind some trees while firing handguns at each other like a couple kids in a schoolyard, without result. I might have done better to throw rocks at him than shoot aimlessly with my .45 caliber…
Mercifully we both ran out of ammunition about the same time, and in place of opting for hand-to-hand combat, we looked each other over, shrugged our shoulders, and walked away. I have never felt so alive, and I’ll bet my Golden Gloves that my gentleman friend from the north felt the same way. In fact, he might be relating a similar story to his grandkids today…
“Oh, away back in ’66 I got into a skirmish with a Marine who was just as bad a shot as was I. We ducked behind the few trees between us, while firing our sidearms as we saw fit. But neither of us could hit a tent from the inside. When we both ran out of ammunition, we looked bemused at each other, shrugged our shoulders and walked away.”
Sometimes running out of ammo is an acceptable resolution to a conflict. I walked on air for the rest of the day following that flirtation with death, and felt more alive for the encounter…
I sometimes wonder what that gentleman from North Vietnam is doing today. I would love to call him up and ask, “Hey, do you remember shooting at a Marine while jumping around behind a few scruffy trees away back in ‘66? Because if you do, I want to fly over there and buy you the adult beverage of your choice.”
I don’t imagine I’ll ever have that glorious opportunity, but it would put years onto my already ancient life if I did. Hell, I don’t even know where we were, Hill 881, the Rockpile, the Razorback? I just don’t know…
We left some good men behind us, good men on both sides. And I guess God was on both sides too now that I think about it…
These days I’m feeling an intriguing sense of euphoria, and wondering if I might be
flirting with death on a more natural plane, being older than Mathusalem’s horse and all. It’s a delicate feeling that I hope does not come with a prescient and immediate call to another shore. I’m not going to think about it, but will accept it as simply a signal of gratitude for living a long life following a gunfight at the Vietnam OK Corral between Two Guys Who Could Not Shoot Straight…
Audio: https://open.spotify.com/show/7Fhv4PrH1UuwlhbnTT23zO
