Free Once Upon a Misty Bluegrass Hill by Rebecca Bernadette Mance

maybe Flint would have died no matter where he was when h is girlfriend dumped him like she did.
    Timmy Johnson had gone too .  H e was a Marine .  He was back already with a wife and a new baby .  He had gotten an award for something he did there but didn ' t talk about.
    Tommy Parker helped her father on the farm.  He was a few years older than Jolene.  He died in Afghanistan when his vehicle was hit by a road bomb .   His parents were so proud of him .  T hey had his picture on a stone with a flag flying next to his image .
    Then there was their own Bernie Cox who worked at the farm with Patrick who lost his leg.  He had a new advanced prosthetic leg that even allowed him to run...they gave it to him at the v et eran's hospital just down the road toward Lexington.  He said was going to run a marathon as soon as he could work himself into being able to .  Bernie didn't really ever seem to live with regret, in fact, he was mighty proud as far as she could see.
    There were so many from her class going , Doug Mason, Mitch Connelly and Yolanda Washington.   All of them seemed proud and ready to go, even though some people talked down about the wars . Her daddy always said that it was the south’s sons and now even daughters t hat carried the largest bur dens of the wars even though the people who talked about it the most and loudest didn’t send any of their children .
    For as long as she could remember there was a war in the middle east but everyone she knew who went there and all of their family were so proud of them.  They all seemed to believe there was something important about it.
    " No, Patrick , I don ' t think it was a waste.  I think my Da ddy would say that Flint, Timmy and Bernie w ere the knights that would lead all them people to Freedom ' s Front Door.  I think my daddy would say if we could walk the path twice we might be in more trouble to do noth ' in after 9/11 …at least that is what everyone believed when we had the war to start with …even some of those people who later decided not to support the war .  That is what Tommy said before he left.  He said we had to make a choice about doing it now, or waiting till it was much worse or even when it might be too late . "
    Patrick was thoughtful.  " What about those that died? "
    Jolene sighed , the grief that hit her when she thought of those lost…and their mother ' s who cried so much surfac ed under her words .  " Flint...my best friend ever ... once said that the hour of the lamps gave him hope for a better future for them people in the M iddle -E ast."
    "What would Flint say now?"
    "I don ' t know.  H e is dead so I can ' t ask him."
    "I am so sorry...so you see...was it worth the loss of your best friend?"
    "He killed himself.  The T aliban didn ' t kill him, his girlfriend dumped him and he kill ed hisself."
    She paused over the lump that formed in her throat.  " But Tommy was killed by the enemy.  And Tommy ' s family doesn ' t think it was a waste.  They know Tommy changed the world and I agree with them. "
    "We don't know what the feel in their heart."
    "Fine, then ask Bernie what he thinks, under his jeans he has a fake leg."
    Patrick's jaw dropped.  "I knew he was a vet from Iraq and I see him rubbing his thigh sometimes.... but I had no idea about his leg ...I'll be damned... . "
    "He is going to run a marathon.  He gets up and runs every day before coming to help out here."
    Patrick shook his head thoughtful.  "That is truly unbelievable .  But I already know he is very proud, so there is no need to talk to Bernie about this.  Yet, it does give me something else to admire about him."
    "Bye Patrick !"  Bea and Lacy called as they ran from the house toward the creek.
    Patrick turned his grave gaze from Jolene to wave to Lacy and Bea as they carried their eggs across the creek to their house next door . 
    He returned his weighty gaze to her.  " It is complicated to be sure...but m aybe if you and Tommy and his