"Eddings, David - Regina's Song V2.0" - читать интересную книгу автора (Eddings David)

p. ; cm.
ISBN o-345-44898-7
I. Eddings, Leigh.
II. Title. PS3555.D38 8454 2002 813'.6-dc2 1
2002276813
Manufactured in the United States of America
Designed by BTDnyc
First Edition: July 2002


PRELUDE
Andante
Les Greenleaf and my dad, Ben Austin, had served in
the same outfit during the Vietnam War, and twenty-five
years later they
could spend whole afternoons swapping war stories.
They both grew up in Everett, a town thirty miles north
of Seattle. And
they both worked at the same place, since my dad
was a sawyer at Greenleaf Sash and Door, Inc.
Aside from that, they couldn't have been much more
opposite. Les Greenleaf was a Catholic, a Republican,
and a member of
the National Association of Manufacturers. My dad
was a Methodist, a Democrat, and a member of the
AFL-CIO. Les Greenleaf
had investments, and Ben Austin lived from paycheck
to paycheck. They were on opposite sides of just about
any fence you could
think of.
"Buddyship," though, tends to jump over all kinds of
fences. I guess that when people are shooting at you,
you get attached to
the guy who's covering your butt.
Back during the late sixties, staying out of the army
and the war in 'Nam had been every young man's major
goal in life. Rich
kids could get a student deferment if they were smart
enough to get into college, but working-class kids had to
take their chances.
Les and my dad both graduated from high school in
1967. My dad promptly married pretty Pauline Baker, his
high-school
sweetheart and went to work at Greenleaf Sash and
Door.
Les Greenleaf enrolled in the University of
Washington, joined a fraternity, and majored in parties.
He flunked out at the end of
his sopho-more year.
My dad had evidently had a little spat with mom, and