BOYS WILL BE BOYS
“Your
boys should be more respectful,” old Cyril grumbled to the new vicar,
“Graveyards aren’t playgrounds.”
“All
those dead grandparents probably enjoy their laughter,” Peter retorted, but at
teatime he told his sons they must play elsewhere.
“But the
others will miss us!” Harry cried.
Peter was puzzled. ”I’ve not seen anyone else
with you.”
“He means
the old ones,” Ben explained, “The boys who played here before.”
“Before
when?” Peter asked carefully.
“Before
they went away, of course. Their names are on that pillar by the gate.” He
raised innocent eyes to his father. “Are they dead too?”
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Thanks to https://rochellewisofffields.wordpress.com/ for hosting Friday Fictioneers and to J Hardy Carroll for the photo that prompts this week's story.
Follow the link on Rochelles blog to read many other takes on the photograph.
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You may have noticed I've been absent for a month. This is because we have moved back to England after nearly sixteen years living in Tenerife, and such a move was bound to take up all my energy!
Now we are settled in a flat in our old village, and as I am no longer an expat I have changed the name of my blog to http://lizy-writes.blogspot.co.uk/ .
So if you're a regular follower, please adjust your search accordingly - I should hate to lose you.
So many of the men who fought were just boys, weren't they?
ReplyDeleteThey were, Patsy, heart-achingly young.
DeleteDear Liz,
ReplyDeleteYou must've read my mind today. I saw you on Facebook and wondered if you'd left us. Glad to see you back.
Sweet story that went straight to the heart.
Shalom,
Rochelle
Thanks Rochelle, and I'm glad you missed me!
DeleteVery poignant. I think you post is very good for today is Veteran's Day in the US.
ReplyDeleteIt is fitting that the UK and the US share their days of remembrance.
DeleteA good post for the day. Well done and happy landings. When we returned from living in Spain I simply couldn't get over the deli section in Tesco. My fascination lasted months.
ReplyDeleteOdd, the things we didn't realise we'd missed! Sainsbury's harvest grain loaf, English apples etc!
DeleteA poignant piece, Lizy, and one to make you think. Glad you got the changeover on your blog sorted OK.
ReplyDeleteAnn
Thanks Ann - it was a struggle but I got there in the end!
DeleteWelcome back - and what a special story to mark your return!
ReplyDeleteThanks Susan - I couldn't ignore the lure any longer!
DeleteI absolutely loved the line about the dead grandparents enjoying the laughter. Very moving and beautiful story.
ReplyDeleteThanks Ga - I hoped someone would notice that. I am a vicar's child and graveyards were sometimes my playgrounds.
DeleteWhat a lovely, poignant link between the boys of past and present. You always say so much in so few words, Liz.
ReplyDelete(Glad you found your blog. Blogtastic!)
Helen
Thanks Helen - and my blog was only 'lost' for a few minutes while it got used to its new name!
DeleteYou may have been gone for a while (like me), but you haven't lost your gift of weaving a good tale! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Lorna - one always wonders whether the knack has gone - and there's a sigh of relief when it proves to be still there!
DeleteWhat a lovely tale. How true that the young ones celebrate better than the old.
ReplyDeleteThank you Dale.
DeleteLiz, I really like the layers here. The sense of time, war, and loss is palpable, but the lovely piece about the children playing amongst the dead grandparents is very sweet. Nicely done! And welcome home! What a big change for you. I hope the adjustments are smooth and kind.
ReplyDeleteThanks Dawn. The adjustments are kind in one respect - back with family - but the bureaucracy is a nightmare!
DeleteIntriguing story. Are they dead or not? Anyway honors those who have gone before in an unusual way.
ReplyDeleteI imagined the vicar's sons playing with ghosts.
DeleteI like how you've blended the old and the young in this, and blurred the divide between the living and the dead. Superbly done. The playing children are the perfect link.
ReplyDeleteThanks Margirene.
DeleteWOW ...there is a lot going on is 100 words. Great job. I hope you are settled
ReplyDeleteinto your new relocation. Moving is tedious and I've been moving out of 3 houses
for two years......LOL
Three in two years is excessive! Thanks for visiting.
DeleteThat is a big move. How are you finding the cold of England?
ReplyDeleteYour flash shows that for many that fought they were but boys themselves. Such a sad loss of life.
It was a bigger move when we went to Tenerife. Coming home was emotionally less stressful, though having to rent after a lifetime of home ownership is a shock!
DeleteNice one Lizy. That epitaph by John Edmonds can also be found in the War Cemetery in Kohima in North East India commemorating the fallen of the Battle of Kohima in April 1944.
ReplyDeleteThankyou Subroto. The Kohima Epitaph was said in my local chucrch last week by a veteran who survived the Burma railway. Very moving.
Delete