The Heat

TOAD::

When exposed to the brutality and horror of war, a man’s mind must decide how to process the terrifying experiences so the memories may be carefully filed away into the chosen portion of the frontal cortex of the brain; saved for long-term recollection.

Some men seem to dwell on the horrific events, and allow them to chisel away at their life for all of the years which follow. Others become somewhat immune to the events of their past, or any similar circumstances which may present themselves in the future.

I don’t believe the decision to either lose sight of the past or allow it to inhabit our mind is a conscious one, but more a matter of a person’s chemical assembly. The men who don’t seem at all bothered by their exposure to the atrocities of war are often perceived as evil, immoral, depraved, or wicked.

Hardened.

I’ve heard some describe me as hardened.

I couldn’t say I enjoyed what I witnessed in combat, nor could I accurately describe it as something I found to be horri