-^-for posterity-^-

one of those rare moments that you can't fully comprehend or appreciate until a bit later. i sat down for supper.

on one side of the table sat a new friend from germany. he was a bit younger than my father and had long, flowing blonde hair. it was tied behind his head in a neat ponytail. his forehead was a large, earthen shelf. his eyebrows were a tangle of blonde shrubbery. his hands were large blocks of clay. he was absurdly proportioned.

on the other side of the table, next to me, sat a vietnamese friend. he was in his mid-thirties and had just began a family. he is a wonderfully small man with a sincere, warm smile. he radiates kindness.

i got up enough courage to ask my german friend about the war. he was born in 1951 and his father was a nazi. i thought it might be a sore subject but he wasn't at all hesitant to talk about it. he said his father was in charge of some sort of transportation down to northern africa. he was also in charge of appropriating (he said stealing) goods from italy.

he said his father never talked about the war and that he only heard about it from other sources. he said he had wanted to learn more but had never really been able to ask him. he talked about how hard it was to be raised by a father who had never actually had a childhood. his father turned 18 in 1939 and was from a poor family. he was a perfect candidate for the uber-race. he said his father never wanted him to go out and meet people and do things with friends. he said his father never understood why he would want to go to clubs or want to have a good time.

my other friend talked about the american war. he was born in 1976 and his father fought in the southern, diem government army. he said his father never talked about it and he knew nothing about what happened. he had tried to ask some things about the war but he never was answered. he also agreed that it was hard to be raised by a father that really had no childhood.

my two friends sat opposite one another staring empathetically into one another's eyes. this was the first time they met but there was something deep down in each one of them that connected. something was the same. we sat in silence. something about their eyes was the same.