It was war, that is what it was

As I sit in my comfortable chair, I rub my shoulder, in memory of my exploits during the war.  I remember it like it was yesterday.  I was a mere kid, when I think about it, compared to the age I am, now.  But, I will never forget the biggest battle I experienced, during one of the hottest summer days of the year.

My brother-in-arms and I were trudging along the jungle, when suddenly -- we heard the crackling of a branch, some leaves, maybe.  We glanced at each other in wordless conversation:  the enemy was closer than we imagined.  We needed to act, and to act quickly.

In the near distance, we noticed a flat-roofed shed, and a lush green tree growing beside it that possessed a lone branch which provided a gate-way that was key to covering up our whereabouts.  With quick precision, we shimmied up the tree, then hung from that branch, moving to towards the shed, hand over hand until we reached our destination, while still keeping a trained ear out for the ensuing enemy.  We landed upon the roof, each of us taking a portion of the roof that would be considered "catty-corner" from the other.  There, we kept watch; I was assigned watching points North and West, while my comrade watched points East and South, waiting silently for the enemy forces to make their presence known.

And in short order, the enemy made their presence known.  Surprisingly, these two soldiers were loudly talking, oblivious to any possible danger headed their way!  They were complaining about the heat and their hunger, but seemed to pay no mind to their surroundings.  They didn't even hear the warning whistle directed towards my brother in arms to make him aware of the situation at hand.  With a belly crawl, he joined me at my position on the roof.  We turned our heads towards each other, satisfying smiles making their way to our faces.  We made sure our weapons were ready to fire down upon these two warriors.  We were going to vanquish the enemy -- they would be OURS!

 Rich signaled a countdown with silent fingers... three... two... one... FIRE!

We rained a hailstorm of firepower upon these two unfortunate souls!  Our goal was annihilation, and victory was indeed, ours!  We paid no mind to the pained screams of the enemy, as they shouted, "Richy!  Becky!   Those beans HURT!  And the next time you shoot outta those pea shooters, could you watch getting SPIT all over the place!"

Soon, we heard the cry of our neighbor's mother call, "Joey, 'Emergency' is on!"

"Hey, guys, I've gotta go.  Same time tomorrow?"

"Yeah, great game of War!" we answered in congratulatory fashion.  As we made our way to our home, we looked forward to the next day.  Maybe a trip to the Panama Canal was in order....