The Preacher Tells a Tale (standard:drama, 2866 words)
Author: deaconburke	Added: Nov 01 2006	Views/Reads: 3171/2100	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
It's the height of the Viet Nam war and in Detroit people gather to tell tales from DaNam. It isn't exactly what it seems.

The Preacher Tells a Tale 

by Deacon Burke 

Author's Note: This is written like people talk. I honestly do know
better but I wanted it to read like you were sitting there listening to 
your uncle tell a tale. 

"Hey Preacher," the voice coming from the phone shocked me. No one had
called me that since my last days in Vietnam. Four years at home and 
still trying to get past those days. 

"Jim you son of a dog, I almost didn't recognize your voice." He had to
know that it was a lie. Not more than a dozen people in the whole world 
knew me by that name. "What the hell are you doing calling me. I 
thought you were dead." I gave a resounding laugh so he knew that I was 
kidding. 

"Nah that was my evil twin brother who died. So what you up to these
days Preach?" I had a chill run through me. Not at the use of my name 
but at the thought that Jim obviously had something in mind. 

"Oh doing a little of this and a little of that." I tried to make it
sound convincing. I had pretty much taken over for my Uncle Deacon.  
Deacon was all finesse, whereas I was maximum violence. They each 
seemed to get the job done. I had come to hate drugs and drug dealers 
while in Vietnam. Taking their money didn't bother me in the least. 
When they resisted with guns, they died. It was a simple way of dealing 
with men who sold junk to kids. 

"So you want to go to Detroit?" 

"Why the devil would I want to go to Detroit?" 

"Why hell Preach we be having kind of reunion there." 

"Jim, there were exactly twenty men in our field unit and half of them
are dead. It ain't going to be much of a reunion." 

"Well it ain't exactly that kind of reunion." 

"What kind of reunion is it then." 

"Vietnam Vets Against the War is having some kind of a thing in Detroit.
They want to hear our stories." 

"Jim have you gone soft on me." I couldn't believe he had joined the
resistance. He and I hadn't really been in the war. At least not the 
one they were protesting. 

"They sent out a call for Advisors to the ARVN troops. They want to ask
us what it was like in the early days." 

"That's nuts. Who the hell cares what it was like in the cowboy days." 

"Some naval officer is promising to get it all told. He was some kinda'
Seal or something. Wants to let everybody know the truth." 

"Whose truth?" 

"Why ours of course." 

"I haven't talked to you in a long time, so you probably don't know how
I feel." 

"Unless you're the one who has gone soft, I know exactly how you feel.
It's how all of us feel. Maybe we can get the word out. If nothing 
else, we can shake a few of them up. Come on Preach it will be fun." 

"If you knew how I hated the cold, you wouldn't ask me." 

"Preach, my friends in the VVAW tell me they are going to give this SEAL
all the dirt to carry to Washington. Don't you want to see what dirt 
they have?" 



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