Unknown and Hostile

A relatively quiet day. Took Arthur to the doctor to have his ingrowing toe nail cut. Arthur is now hobbling. Sushi lunch at Kurazushi with Kazuko and Arthur. A ten kilometers run in 32 degrees heat. In the meantime, getting into my latest book. A big gear shift from all the Terry Pratchett novels I've been reading lately. This is harrowing stuff written by a man who served as a marine in Vietnam and was awarded the Navy Cross, the Bronze Star, two Navy Commendation Medals for Valour, two Purple Hearts and ten Air Medals. The summer heat in Japan makes the descriptions of the constant oppressive humidity and the insects really come to life. Thank goodness we don't have to deal with dozens of leaches every day as well. It is hard to imagine just how tough life was for the soldiers who served in that horrific war. It is all too easy to dismiss the Vietnam veterans, as many people did at the time, as a bunch of "baby-killers." Karl Marlantes does an incredible job of showing these soldiers as men dealing with unimaginable pressure and hardship that would test the resolve of the most honourable of men. As someone once said, "Hate the war, not the warrior."

Adagio For Strings