He flew away

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" height=90 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="005dba33.gif"> <div> <A HREF="http://www.frodolivesin.us/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.frodolivesin.us/"><U><IMG SRC="13891330.jpg" border=0 width="145" height="51" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A>     | <A HREF="http://www.frodolivesin.us" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.frodolivesin.us"><U>home</U></A> |   back to  <A HREF="http://www.frodolivesin.us/nonlotr/id107.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.frodolivesin.us/nonlotr/id107"><U><B>"Save the life of my child"</B></U></A><B> </B></div> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="On the ledge"><U>On the ledge</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id110.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Twould be a miracle indeed"><U>'Twould be a miracle indeed</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id111.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Whats becoming of the children?"><U>What's becoming of the children?</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id112.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="When darkness fell"><U>When darkness fell</U></A>   |   <B>He flew away</B></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" height=390 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" background="badf9183.jpg"> <bR> <div> ...he flew away.</div> <bR> <bR> <div> Aaron the soldier leaves for his 7:00 am rendezvous. The jacket/shirt hanging on the door is an interesting detail...</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="bf120c20.jpg" border=0 width="800" height="450" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> ...since the next time we see him, he's wearing even less than he was. </div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="bf320c00.jpg" border=0 width="800" height="448" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> He's stripped of his hair and clothes. He's expressionless and the camera work makes him look gaunt.</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="bf520c20.jpg" border=0 width="800" height="450" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="bf820c30.jpg" border=0 width="800" height="451" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="bfa20c30.jpg" border=0 width="800" height="451" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="bfc20c00.jpg" border=0 width="800" height="448" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> Because Aaron's mental state is difficult to decipher, so is this smile. My first thought was to link it to the fact that a depressed person who's decided to commit suicide can seem to suddenly "get better" - calm, peaceful, even happy - because the mental anguish is over. But depressed isn't a term I would use to describe Aaron, and neither is suicidal. He seems, instead, to have gotten more and more detached from reality, even creating an alter ego for himself who can cope with the reality he can't deal with. In the <A HREF="http://www.frodolivesin.us/forums/index.php?showtopic=73" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.frodolivesin.us/forums/index."><U>forum discussion</U></A>, it was mentioned that the one thing on his "top ten" list that Aaron seemed to get real pleasure from was his skydiving experience, which suggests he might have been thinking about that here, just before he jumps. I think that could very well be part of what's going on, perhaps with the addition of feeling that his new alter ego can survive things he can't. </div> <bR> <div> In <A HREF="#save" TITLE="He flew away"><U>the song I've been quoting in these page titles</U></A>, when the boy finally jumps from the ledge it's said that "he flew away." I believe that line is especially applicable to Aaron - or, better, to Aaron's internal state of being at the moment he jumps.  </div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="bfe20c30.jpg" border=0 width="800" height="451" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="c0020c20.jpg" border=0 width="800" height="450" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <IMG SRC="b9f6c0a0.gif" border=0 width="620" height="10" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div>  <A NAME="save"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></div> <div> <B>The titles of the pages in this sequence are taken from "Save the Life of My Child" by Paul Simon. </B></div> <div> <B>It's on the </B><I><B>Bookends </B></I><B>album by Simon and Garfunkel (1968):</B></div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="4" CELLSPACING="0" WIDTH="422" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#A6CAF0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#0000FF" FRAME="BOX" RULES="COLS" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=BOTTOM HEIGHT= 154 WIDTH="126"><div> <B>Audio CD of the </B><I><B>Bookends </B></I><B>album: </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><B>follow </B><I><B>this </B></I><B>link to hear samples of the tracks; also includes "Mrs. Robinson," "America," and "Old Friends"</B></FONT></div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=BOTTOM WIDTH="136"><div> <B>Original LP of the </B><I><B>Bookends </B></I><B>album (used only): </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><B>from years of personal experience,</B></FONT><B> </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><B>a benefit of the larger cover size is having Paul's eyes follow you around the room.</B></FONT></div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=BOTTOM WIDTH="126"><div> <B>MP3 download of "Save the Life of My Child": </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><B>if you want something more portable than vinyl and a turntable - and for only 99 cents. </B></FONT></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 68 WIDTH="126"><div>  <iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=afewworabo-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=B00005NKKY&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="width:120px;height:240px;" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0"></iframe>  </div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="136"><div>  <iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=afewworabo-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=B000QXTF48&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="width:120px;height:240px;" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0"></iframe>  </div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="126"><div>  <iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=afewworabo-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=B0018PZALK&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="width:120px;height:240px;" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0"></iframe>  </div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> <B>And, oh, yeah, there's a movie, too:</B></div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="142" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#A6CAF0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#0000FF" FRAME="BOX" RULES="NONE" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 ><NOBR><div> <B>DVD of </B><I><B>Day Zero</B></I></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 68 WIDTH="130"><div>  <iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=afewworabo-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=B000XJ5UEE&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="width:120px;height:240px;" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0"></iframe>  </div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="132" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 66 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id108_m.htm" TITLE="He flew away"><U><IMG SRC="1647d3c0.jpg" border=0 width="125" height="60" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 71 ><NOBR><div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="60" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="125"></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 66 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id112.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="When darkness fell"><U><IMG SRC="3e17d3c0.jpg" border=0 width="125" height="60" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>