War is Hell

by Beverly Jonnes

When Heidi and her friend Meg were in high school, they were standing in our kitchen saying their goodbyes to Nels and myself, when Nels remembered something he’d read recently about Robert E. Lee, the famous Civil War general. Nels was always very passionate about his war readings, so he talked on and on and on until our legs felt as if they would atrophy. Forty-five minutes later, he finally finished his account and left the room. Heidi, Meg, and I stared at each other speechless until Meg said, “And they say WAR is hell!”