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99
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276
He couldn’t resort to<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">his typical attitude when we were sharing an institution, couldn’t pretend not<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">to know me—or he’d be insubordinate.<span class...
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When she came to me, she said: Oh... hello.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p3"><span class="s1"></span><br></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">I smiled.
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And blushed.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p3"><span class="s1"></span><br></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">The passing-out ceremony was followed by the playing of “Auld Lang<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">Syne,” and then the c...
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Granny gave a lovely speech.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">As the day work with wounded soldiers.
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J let you have veterans, why cant you let<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">me have African elephants and rhinos?<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p3"><span class="s1"></span><br></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">I complained to Teej ...
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Keep fighting, they said.
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Theres room for both of you<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">in Africa.
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Theres need for you both.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p3"><span class="s1"></span><br></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">So, with their encouragement, I embarked on a four-month fact-finding<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">trip,...
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Botswana.
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Namibia.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">Tanzania.
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South Africa.
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I went to Kruger National Park, a vast stretch of dry,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">barren land the size of Israel.
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In the war on poachers, Kruger was the<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">absolute front line.
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Its rhino populations, both black and white, were<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">plummeting, due to armies of poachers being incentivized by Chinese and<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">Vietnamese crime syndicate...
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One rhino horn fetched enormous sums, so for<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">every poacher arrested, five more were ready to take their place.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p3"><span class="s1"></span><br></p> <p class="p2"><span c...
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They were also more<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">dangerous.
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As browsers, they lived in thick bush, and wading in after them<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">could be fatal.
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They didn’t know you were there to help.
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I’d been charged a<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">few times, and I was lucky to get away without being gored.
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(Tip: Always<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p3"><span class="s1"></span><br></p> <p class="p3"><span class="s1"></span><br></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">213<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p3"><span class="s1"></span><br></p> <p class="p3"><span c...
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me/Afghansalarlibrary<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p3"><span class="s1"></span><br></p> <p class="p3"><span class="s1"></span><br></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">know the location of the nearest tree branch, because you might need to<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></s...
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I had friends who’d not been so lucky.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p3"><span class="s1"></span><br></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">White rhinos were more docile, and more plentiful, but perhaps wouldn’t<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p2"><span c...
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As grazers, they also lived in open<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">grassland.
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Easier to see, easier to shoot.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p3"><span class="s1"></span><br></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">I went along on countless anti-poaching patrols.
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Over several days in<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">Kruger, we always got there too late.
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I must have seen forty bullet-riddled<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">rhino carcasses.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p3"><span class="s1"></span><br></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">Poachers in other parts of South Africa, I lea...
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Bullets were expensive, and gunshots gave away their position.
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So<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">they’d dart a rhino <p class="p3"><span class="s1"></span><br></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">I regretted the job not being finished.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p3"><span class="s1"></span>...
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Yes.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p3"><span class="s1"></span><br></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">His head went back.
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Surprised.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p3"><span class="s1"></span><br></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">What did he think we were doing over here?
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Selling magazine<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">subscriptions?<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p3"><span class="s1"></span><br></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">He asked if I’d killed anyone.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </...
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I told the reporter that I<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">thought the British press was crap, particularly with regard to my brother<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">and sister-in-law, who’d just announced that t...
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I admitted that I felt guilty every time I did, because<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">it made me complicit.
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Everyone’ guilty for buying the newspapers.
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But<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">hopefully no one actually believes what's in them.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p3"><span class="s1"></span><br></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">But of course they did.
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People did believe, and that was the whole<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">problem.
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Britons, among the most literate people on the planet, were also<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">the most credulous.
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Even if they didn’t believe every word, there was<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">always that residue of wonder.
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Hmm, where there’ smoke there must be<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">fire...Even if a falsehood was disproved, debunked beyond class="s1"></span><br></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">I looked down, highly dubious.
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How long will this take?<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p3"><span class="s1"></span><br></p> <p class="p3"><span class="s1"></span><br></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">300<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p3"><span class="s1"></span><br></p> <p class=...
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I need a solution now.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p3"><span class="s1"></span><br></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">Mike and I worked out a plan.
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I could write a letter to Meg, which he’d<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">take home with him to Maun.
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Teej could then photograph the letter and<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">text it to Meg.
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(She had Meg’s number on her phone: I’d given it to her<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">when she first went to collect Meg from the airport.
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)<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p3"><span class="s1"></span><br></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">Now I just had to write that letter.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p3"><span class="s1"></span><br></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">The first chall...
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A pen.
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A biro!
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My kingdom for a biro!<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p3"><span class="s1"></span><br></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">Oh.
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A biro.
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Wow.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p3"><span class="s1"></span><br></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">Somehow I found one.
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The next challenge was finding a place to<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">compose.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p3"><span class="s1"></span><br></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">I went off under a tree.<span class="Apple-convert...
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I stared into space.
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I wrote:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p3"><span class="s1"></span><br></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">Hey Beautiful.
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OK you got me—cant stop thinking about you, missing<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">you, LOTS.
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Phone went in river.
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Sad face...Apart from that, having an<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">amazing time.
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Wish u were here.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p3"><span class="s1"></span><br></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">Mike left, letter in hand.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p3"><span class="s1"></span><br></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">Days late...
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We met up with Teej, who immediately said: Relax, I’ve already<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">had a reply.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p3"><span class="s1"></span><br></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">So it hadn’t been a dream...
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Meg was real.
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All of it was real.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p3"><span class="s1"></span><br></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">Among other things, Meg said in her reply that she was eager to speak<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">to me.<span...
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This time I brought a sat phone.
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While everyone was finishing<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">dinner I found a clearing and climbed the tallest tree, thinking the<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">reception might be better.<span class="Apple-conve...
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By<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">the time I got married, if I ever got married, there might be none left.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p3"><span class="s1"></span><br></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">I don’t recall leaving th...
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I don’t recall walking out to the altar.
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I<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">have no memory of the readings, or removing the ring, or handing it to my<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">brother.
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The ceremony is mostly a blank in my mind.
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I recall Kate walking<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">down the aisle, looking incredible, and I recall Willy walking her back up<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">the aisle, and as they disappeared through the door...
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She was a good match for my older brother.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">They made each other visibly happy, and therefore I was happy too.
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But in<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">my gut I couldn’t help feeling that this was yet another farewell under this<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">horrid roof.
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Another sundering.
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The brother I’d escorted into Westminster<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">Abbey that morning was gone—forever.
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Who could deny it?
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He’d never<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">again be first and foremost Willy.
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We’d never again ride together across the<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">Lesotho countryside with capes blowing behind us.
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We’d never again share<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">a horsey-smelling cottage while learning to fly.
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Who shall separate us?<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p3"><span class="s1"></span><br></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">Life, that’s who.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p3"><span class="s1"></span><br></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">I’d had the s...
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In the Camilla era, as I’d predicted, I saw him less<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">and less.
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Weddings were joyous occasions, sure, but they were also low-key<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">funerals, because after saying their vows people tended to disappear.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p3"><span class="s1"></span><br></...
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We are primarily one<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">thing, and then we’re primarily another, and then another, and so on, until<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">death—in succession.
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Each new identity assumes the throne of Self, but<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p3"><span class="s1"></span><br></p> <p class="p3"><span class="s1"></span><br></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">199<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p3"><span class="s1">...
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:me/Afghansalarlibrary<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p3"><span class="s1"></span><br></p> <p class="p3"><span class="s1"></span><br></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">takes us further from our original self, perhaps our core self—the child.
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Yes,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">evolution, maturation, us to a<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">place even more remote.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p3"><span class="s1"></...
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Really?
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Here?<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p3"><span class="s1"></span><br></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">Colder, heavier rain started to come down.
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The instructors shouted that<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">we should imagine our helicopter had just crash-landed behind enemy lines,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">and our only hope of survival was to go by f...
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We’d been given a meta narrative, which<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">we now recalled: We were a Christian army, fighting a militia sympathetic<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">to Muslims.<span class="Apple-conv...
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Well, this sucks.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p3"><span class="s1"></span><br></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">We had a map, a compass, and each man had a bivvy bag, essentially a<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">body-length wa...
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No food was allowed.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p3"><span class="s1"></span><br></p> <p class="p3"><span class="s1"></span><br></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">206<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p3"><span class="s1"></span><br></p> <p class="p3"...
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me/Afghansalarlibrary<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p3"><span class="s1"></span><br></p> <p class="p3"><span class="s1"></span><br></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">Which way?<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p3"><span class="s1"></span><br></p> <p cl...
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Lighted windows, smoke curling from brick<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">chimneys.
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How we longed to knock on a door.
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367
In the good old days people<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">would help out the soldiers on exercise, but now things were different.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">Locals had been scolded many times by the Army; ...
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I liked Phil, but I<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">started to feel something like unbounded love for the other man, because he<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">told us he’d visited Bodmin Moor as a summer walker ...
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More, he knew how to get us out.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p3"><span class="s1"></span><br></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">He led, we followed like children, through the dark and into the next day.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p3"><span clas...
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The temperature approached<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">freezing, the rain fell even harder.
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We said to hell with our solitary bivvy<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">bags, and curled up together, spooned actually, like Mummy, whose last<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">sound on earth...would be a click.<sp...
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Lemon<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">wedges on the cutting board, garlic and rosemary, gravy bubbling in a<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">saucepan.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p clas...
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She was expanding my horizons, teaching me about<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">folk music and soul, James Taylor and Nina Simone.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p3"><span class="s1"></span><br></p> <p class="p3"><span class="s1"><...
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It’s a new day.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p3"><span class="s1"></span><br></p> <p class="p3"><span class="s1"></span><br></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">Maybe the wine went to my head.
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Maybe the weeks of battling the<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p> <p class="p2"><span class="s1">press had worn me down.