ON GETEL'S SNOWY MOUNTAIN
We used to have to walk about three-quarters of a mile
up a densely forested, meandering path to get to my
father's old cabin in the woods. Getel's Mountain was
the name of the place - and it was the very first thing he
bought in 1946 when he got out of the war.
-
That's all he ever called it - 'the war' - but we always knew
what he meant for the rest of his life. He never left it -
the war, that is. To the cabin, he came and went at will.
He'd always say 'watch for the sappers within the trees' and
I never, at first, knew what he meant. I thought a 'sapper'
had something to do with the trees and their sap.
Turns out, actually, it was a word for military guys
who built fortifications in the woods or jungles -
heavily armed riflemen, bayoneteers,
warriors, killers, crazy nuts.
-
You always think of the sentimental best
when you think of a cabin in the woods -
wonderful hearth, fire at night, fresh water
out of buckets, a beautiful and snowy front view.
That's only true, I found out, on postcards and
birthday cards, or stuff like that. The reality
can be more like Hell, or at least that same,
everyday Hell lived elsewhere. Demons in the night,
Black bears ripping your arms off.
You really never leave any of that stuff behind.
-
My father's demons and ghosts came with him :
furious lashings with dead guys beaming back,
canvas body bags being dumped at sea,
kamikaze pilots in fiery planes bearing down.
He'd tell me all these things in his sleep -
me a little boy trying to figure him out,
him an old soldier now torn with doubt.
We used to have to walk about three-quarters of a mile
up a densely forested, meandering path to get to my
father's old cabin in the woods. Getel's Mountain was
the name of the place - and it was the very first thing he
bought in 1946 when he got out of the war.
-
That's all he ever called it - 'the war' - but we always knew
what he meant for the rest of his life. He never left it -
the war, that is. To the cabin, he came and went at will.
He'd always say 'watch for the sappers within the trees' and
I never, at first, knew what he meant. I thought a 'sapper'
had something to do with the trees and their sap.
Turns out, actually, it was a word for military guys
who built fortifications in the woods or jungles -
heavily armed riflemen, bayoneteers,
warriors, killers, crazy nuts.
-
You always think of the sentimental best
when you think of a cabin in the woods -
wonderful hearth, fire at night, fresh water
out of buckets, a beautiful and snowy front view.
That's only true, I found out, on postcards and
birthday cards, or stuff like that. The reality
can be more like Hell, or at least that same,
everyday Hell lived elsewhere. Demons in the night,
Black bears ripping your arms off.
You really never leave any of that stuff behind.
-
My father's demons and ghosts came with him :
furious lashings with dead guys beaming back,
canvas body bags being dumped at sea,
kamikaze pilots in fiery planes bearing down.
He'd tell me all these things in his sleep -
me a little boy trying to figure him out,
him an old soldier now torn with doubt.
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