The quieter you become the more you can hear ~ Ram Dass



Thursday, February 17, 2011

Saturday Centus #42

It's Saturday Centus again - in a nutshell, Jenny Matlock gives us a prompt from either herself or a guest submitter and then we have to write 100 or words less related to the prompt (the prompt doesn't count toward the 100 words) Then link it up to her blog. It's open until the following Saturday, so that means you have all week to participate by either reading or writing.  http://jennymatlock.blogspot.com/search/label/Saturday%20Centus

The prompt is in bold. 



“I'd catch a grenade for ya”, Marty yelled.

“What did you say?”  His wife said startled raising her head from the pillow in the dark.

“I must have been dreaming.”

“Honey, I think you need to go to the VA and talk to someone.” 

“But Vietnam was so long ago.”

“You probably need a change in medication.”

She reached for him and held him until he drifted off to sleep. 

Tears came to her eyes as she thought of how many times she had done this for her husband and wondered if he would ever find the peace he so deserved.      

20 comments:

CB said...

Ohhhhh sad but comforting at the same time. Great way to use the prompt and catch a life struggle.

Nonna said...

Excellent...when I read the prompt all I could think of was Vietnam !

Terra said...

I imagine that peace is so hard to find and so longed for. Nice work!

Bookie said...

Really touching post, nice job.

cj Schlottman said...

My husband was a surgeon in Vietnam and was fortunate enough to come away from it a whole person. PTSD is real and needs more press than it gets. You did a great job of writing down a reminder of that fact.

Namaste..........cj

Unknown said...

PTSD haunts so many in so many different ways. It is so sad that Marty can't find peace in his dreams.
Beautifully poignant.

Mine can be found After the Silence

Judie said...

Actually, this was a really good prompt. There is not a one of us who participate in Saturday Centus that cannot relate to this in one way or another. You did an excellent job with this!!

Gems said...

My Granddad used to kick out in his sleep...he was still fighting the sharks who attacked him after his ship was sunk in WWII. This brought me right back to that...I can't actually put the feeling I have into words!

e said...

So sad b/c it's so real and there are so many suffering this way. Very nicely written indeed.
~Michelle

Rawknrobyn.blogspot.com said...

Thanks for expressing such a prolific message so beautifully, Vikki.
xoRobyn

Susan Anderson said...

PTSD was so hard on those vets. Still is, I imagine. I liked this, Viki.

=)

Kim Lehnhoff said...

I dated someone who would see "Charlie" in his living room. One evening, I asked him if I should call his daughter, he told me he wasn't ever married (because his 20-year old self had been single at the time).

It was a scary night.

Ames said...

Excellent Viki. You included this prompt into a very real situation.~Ames

Tgoette said...

Such a poignant and thoughtful piece! So sad that so many suffer like this every day. You captured the moment perfectly. Wonderful job!

Unknown said...

Very good use of the prompt! You have used the war-motif, which is natural for this prompt, and yet you have capsuled the horrors of battle in this old soldier's nightmares. Very clever, subtle and respectful of those who still suffer long after they have left the combat zone.

It's good that this man has such a loving and understanding wife.

Beautifully written, with great feeling and insight.
Best wishes,
Anna

P.S.
Pardon my ignorance but what does PTSD stand for?? Is is 'post trauma something-something'???
Anna's SC week 42 Maisy-Jane

Kat said...

This was a great use of the prompt. So many suffer this type of waking nightmare every day, and it's heartbreaking. Well done! Kat

Nancy Jane said...

Know a couple of men who suffer from PTSD. I know their wives would feel that you've captured the horror of it's essence perfectly. Splendid writing here...

21 Wits said...

My first thought (for a second) was to go this way too, but I changed mid thought, this is an excellent way to take the prompt!

Rek Sesh said...

Moving piece...sometimes the pain and memories never quite go away...don't even need to in a war zone to experience it in life...

Jenny said...

Moving, poignant and vivid.

I am so impressed with your writing here Miss Viki.

Incredibly perfect.