(The lads are over the Atlantic on their flight home)

Joe: Wow. Five years, huh?

Kells: Yeah. Doesn’t seem that long.

Birhtwold: I don’t know. I think it seems longer.

Kells: What do you mean?

Birhtwold: It seems like everyone’s forgotten.

Kells: Yeah, I’ll give you that.

Joe: I wonder what it would’ve been like.

Kells: I don’t know that I want to know.

Birhtwold: It would’ve been like you’re Craig William Staub, hard at work for your employer, Keefe, Bruyette, and Woods. You’re on the 89^th floor of Tower 2. You’re thinking about playing a round of golf, or going dancing with your wife, who’s pregnant with your daughter, or maybe just going out to eat at a nice restaurant with some friends when, boom! Things go crazy. An airplane has hit the other building at your eye level, and you think, I better call my wife and let her know that I’m ok. So you do. Everyone’s running around, not sure what to do. You’re the kind of guy that people go to for help and advice. This time is no different. You help whoever you can on your way down. It’s absolute pandemonium. And you never quite make it out. Maybe you don’t even know what happens, but you don’t make it out. You won’t see your wife, Stacy, of 15 months again. You won’t see you’re friends again. You won’t see your daughter, Juliette, who is born two weeks later on your birthday, September 22. And you’ll wait for them on the other side.

Joe: Which way is New York from here?

Kells (points): That way. Why?

(Joe unbuckles seat belt and stands up)

Kells: What are you doing?

Joe: I don’t know. Moment of silence. Or something. Seemed appropriate.

(Kells, Birhtwold, and Skald stand, heads bowed)

Skald: "I do not possess many powerful friends on earth, but they have gone hence from the delights of the world, sought for themselves the King of Glory. They live now in the heavens with the High Father, dwell in glory. And every day I look forward to when the Lord’s Cross that I beheld here on earth will fetch me from this short life and bring me then where joy is great, delight in the heavens, where the Lord’s folk are seated at the feast, where bliss is eternal."

All: Amen.

Notes:

Craig and Stacy

1. Please take some time today to pray for Craig’s family.

2. Skald’s quote taken from "The Dream of the Rood."

Douglas: Look whit the wee cat’s drug in.

Alistair (sitting in chair): Aye, quite the set o’ scallywags ye hae there, Douglas.

Douglas: Welcome to the hame o’ the Black Watch.

(Douglas tells Alistair about how he found the lads)

Joe: Yeah, I thought I was the one who had scared them off.

Birhtwold: About that, Joe. Next time you claim you’re a Texan, you might want to lose the Canadian accent.

Joe: Um, yeah.

Kells: And throw in a "varmint" or two and "this town ain’t big enough for the two of us."

Douglas: What brings ye lads tae Gehenna anyway?

Joe: We’re looking for Wallace of Perth. We have something for him from Stuart.

(Silence, bowed heads)

Joe: Uh, everything alright?

Douglas: Wallace took the low road. He’ll be in Scootland afore us.

Alistair: Aye, he and his true love’ll never meet again.

Joe: What?

Kells: Wallace isn’t among the living anymore. (Turns to Douglas).

Birhtwold: I need to sit down.

Skald:

"O ye'll tak' the high road and I'll tak the low road,
An' I'll be in Scotland afore ye;
But me and my true love will never meet again
On the bonnie, bonnie banks o' Loch Lomon'."

Alistair: That’s the one.

Kells: We didn’t know. What happened?

Douglas: Ambush. Wallace never saw it coming.

Joe: What happened then?

Douglas (smiles a grim smile): No one attacks us with impunity.

(Brief silence)

Kells: Well, Stuart did say that if we couldn’t find him, we could pass it along to any Scotsman we found.

(Kells opens box)

Alistair: A case o Irn Bru!

Douglas: And crisps! I claim the Gammon and Pineapple ones!

Alistair: And a stuffed wee Nessie! Put ‘er on the shelf there looking at the door.

(The squaddies dig into the box)

Douglas: Well, thanks for all that!

Joe: Don’t thank us. It was from Stuart.

Douglas: Aye. I’ll hae tae write ‘im a wee note. Let ‘im ken that I’m in ‘is debt.

Kells: I don’t think he’d see it that way. It’s a shame about Wallace. The news of his passing will devastate Stuart and his gang.

Douglas: We sorely miss ‘im. There was nane better. And wi’ things gaun the way they’re gaun, a hit like that one, takes it oot o’ you. We cad use such encouragement as Stuart gae oos.

Birhtwold: "Purpose shall be the firmer, heart the keener, courage shall be the more, as our might lessens."

Alistair: Aye, nice that. I’ll hae to remember that bit.

Douglas: Fits nicely, wi’ oos being downsized from regiment tae battalion. Where’d it come fram?

Birhtwold: I don’t know. Skald’s the one that usually comes up with this stuff.

Douglas: Well, who’s for some crisps and Irn Bru?

(Everyone grabs a can and a bag)

Douglas (holding up his can): Tae Wallace!

Everyone: Tae Wallace!



Notes:
1.  Skald's quote taken from "Loch Lomond"
2.  Birhtwold's quote taken from "The Battle of Maldon"

(The lads walk down a dusty street in Baghdad)

Joe: We have got to stop flying.

Birhtwold: Quit your whinin’.  Just cause you’ve been searched five out of four times.

Kells: Yeah, I can’t believe they searched you twice leaving London.

Birhtwold: Well, if he’d keep his mouth shut once in a while . . .

Joe: Yeah, yeah. Har, har. Very funny. Any idea where we are?

Birhtwold: I don’t know.  This doesn’t match the map.

Kells: I knew we should have taken that left turn at Al Burqua.

Joe: Let’s ask that dude over there.

Birhtwold: Wait . . .

Joe: Yo! Old, dude!  Can you tell us how to get to the -

Fanatic: I kill you!

Joe: Uh, right. Look, we just want to -

Fanatic: I kill you!

Joe: Um. Never mind. We’ll just -

Fanatic: I kill you! I kill you! I kill you!

(A crowd gathers)

Kells: What do you think? Are those the only English words he knows.

Birhtwold: English! That’s it! Pretend we’re Canadians!

Joe: How’s it goin’, eh? Where can we get some Elsinore, eh?

Fanatic: I kill you!

Joe:  Take off, you hoser!

Birhtwold: I meant French Canadian.

Joe: Parlez-vous -

Fanatic (pulling beard out, spittle flying): I killllll youuuuu! Yearrrrrrrrrrgh!

Birhtwold: Holy crap! He’s Deaning out!

Kells: Quick! Do something!

Joe (jumping out in front, patting hip): I’m a Texan, eh.  I've got a gun, and I’m not afraid to use it on you hosers.

(The crowd shrinks back)

Joe: That’s right! That’s what I thought!

Birhtwold (as a shadow falls over them from behind them): Um, Joe?

Joe (whispering): Sh! It’s working!"

Douglas (Joe jumps at the sound of his voice): Gin ye want tae live, ye best be comin’ wi’ oos.

 To be continued . . .