Monday, March 11, 2024

Halo! I (Part 1 of 2)

 

Helmet “halo”-glow!   II
 
After 6 weeks fighting in France’s muddy fields, Pops
Finally, at last, got three-days rest in Gay-Paris! Wow!
 
The Allies were pushing the angry-Huns eastward, with
luck, hopefully, the-war would soon be-won and over. Hmm!
 
His helmet-glowed blue-white from an overhead-lamp
as-he stood on a bridge above the river-Seine. Pops
viewed the swift-flowing water, he reminisced about
the big-river back home and the creek behind the-barn
where he and his family crawfished Sunday afternoons.
 
A row of storefronts lined the river; above the myriad
commercial-establishments were 2nd-story apartments.
Many served as “cribs” where delightful-mademoiselles
entertained lonesome GI’s. Pops-abstained, he had a-girl back-home.
 
At one of the doors located between commercial-enterprises,
Pops noticed a yellow-cat meowing to-be let-in. The-door
opened several-inches; Pops caught-sight of a slender, dark-
haired young-woman setting a-bowl before the-feline.
The hungry cat licked-greedily at the milk-contents.
 
The next-evening, Pops knocked at the door. “Dark-hair” “Merci!”
answered and Pops handed her two-quarts of-milk.
 
Orders-came - - - then-delays…new-orders…more-delays!?
 
Pops weathered the chaos in-stride; he’d been around long-
enough to have-learned to-endure, the younger-guys, who lived
a Hedonistic nether-world practiced-chaos, moaned and complained,
always outside earshot of any higher-authority in-rank.
 
Three-days in Paris grew to-five, -seven, and, finally-ten!
 
Pops spent time along the Seine, took in the-sights, bided his-
time, thankful for the-respite from the evil-Hell of-war.
 
His younger, and foolish, protégés suffered severe hangovers,
soon found their shallow-pockets empty. To add supreme-
insult to injury, the French-gals seemed less so-beautiful
after a week of-temptation and vacant-romance; also, their
affections and seductive-passion waned-quickly as the-money dried-up!

(Part 2 of 2 tomorrow)
 

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