honda knot fort park 3

hkfp 2

H did Tom hunt?

G he did. got his first deer here. thirteenth birthday. pictures of that day, too. you ever?

H no. 

G any interest?

H no. 

G should add that tom never hunted after he came back. 

H any particular reason?

G yes. more on that when you’re back.

the buck meanders out of view. DISTANT THUNDER.

G (cont.) thar she blows.

H i found his fishing licenses in the glove compartment.

G we had a day planned. got pictures of trips.

H i’d love to see them.

G happy to share. ever do any fishing?

H trout pond when i was a kid.

G would you do it again.

H i guess it depends.

G when you get back come with me and the boys and a good friend of mine and tom’s, dale. we’ll take boat out.  dale and tom were in air cav together.

H you?

G marine.

H enlist or drafted?

G drafted. we got our cards the same day.

NEARER THUNDER and DISTANT LIGHTNING.

The boys are already running toward thier ATV when Gil turns to check. he starts the engine.

to be continued.

honda knot fort park 2

hkfp 1

H ruth suggested you might be willing to talk about vietnam sometime.

G we could do that. did you and tom talk about it?

H no. only that he’d been. we were going to pick it up later.

G how about when you’re back next week?

H thank you.

G i have pictures.

H from vietnam?

G nods.

H you were together?

Gi in bangkok for a week. deer at your three o’clock.

H looks ninety degrees to his right, finds the whitetail buck looking back at him from fifty yards away.

honda knot fort park 1

hunter, gil, the boys and atv’s under canopy of texas live oak.

h asks how long g’s been there. “forever,” his dad and a cousin built the house gradually, up from san antonio on weekends. dad used g.i. bill to start construction business. 

(gil is introduced  to hunter at table talk with ruth and wanda.)

h asks re dad www2 experience, g tells him. 

tom’s dad? affirmative.

h re his grandfather, uss helena.

g: you?

h no.

segue into tom and vietnam