Alfred Lord Tennyson in his poem, "Ulysses" has the aging hero say, "I am a part of all that I have met". To this the poet might have added: and of all that I have thought.
Storytellers find their stories among the broken fragments of their lives, things they have done, seen, or heard. They also find them among the scattered figments of their minds, things that they have deduced, dreamed or imagined. Their tales are crafted of these fragments and figments, with the mix varying widely. In the following stories that mix favors fact over fancy.
Three of the stories are taken from my experiences during the Korean War; two are drawn from my childhood; and one from the courtship of my grandparents.