and the devil is six, and the devil is 6

six years have passed. nothing has changed. the characters, the plot, and the setting are still quite intact. six years ago my father passed. this time of year usually catches me by surprise because it is not a date i keep in my calendar nor do i care to remember. i have tried so hard that i do not know the exact date that it happened. this year i was reminded a week in advance by a well-meaning associate. a word to the well-meaning, keep your good intentions to yourself. instead of dealing with this on the day of or the day after, i have an entire week to anticipate its arrival. in an odd attempt to pay tribute to the dead, each year i google my father. this year's search yielded two pieces of the web that i feel are worth sharing. every year i find articles detailing my father's induction into the military intelligence corps hall of fame. this year i found an article that names the inductees, shares a short bio (you will find my father's at the bottom of the first page), and can be understood by civilians. the other piece is a little more disturbing. the night my father died a young man attempted to resuscitate him. the young man detailed his experience in a letter to the boy scouts heroism award review board (this award was presented to ethan in february 2001). it is not easy to read and there are details that i never knew before. feel free to shed a few tears with me this day as you read.

god rest his soul
Douglas Clyde Edgell
May 11, 1955 - the last few days of July 2000

laying on the floor unfed, and evicted

a tale of ecstasy and boy loving

As a rule I am not bothered by inebriated folk, many times I enjoy their presence and company. I am especially understanding when I enter their environment (see: bar, club, bbq, dc united v. celtic game). I understand why people drink to excess and why they are so friendly. I do not however understand why an intoxicated male would show his body parts (chest- with special presentation of the nipples, private area- although I turned my head so I cannot be sure what was shown) to another male repeatedly. All visible clues told the story of young heterosexual interns on the hill looking to have a good time. He and his friend looked as though they might be attempting to relive some of their days as fraternity brothers. Their actions however spun a tale of ecstasy (possibly the drug) and boy loving. I can understand an ironic flash of the male chest to another male in an attempt of humor, but the repeated tapping of the shoulder to make sure I was aware of what he was showing me was bothersome. I was at the club trying to show my wife her first taste of small club live music and unfortunately we were met with these nudie boys. Fortunately, after successfully ignoring them they proceeded to touch upon one another. I think they found what they were looking for. Maybe if my wife was not there with me the story would have had a much different (better, more flaming) ending.

Oh and the drive by truckers did what they do best. They did it so well that we had to leave early to tend to the casualties of the evening.