Wretchard,
Your prose about the light of joyous life pushing back the darkness triggered a flashback for me. I was in Pleiku in ’68 driving through the city enroute to the artillery base camp there. It was morning, not too hot, sunny but pleasant. There was a lot of people going to and fro on the thoroughfare, doing people things. As I drove along, I saw a man on a bicycle approaching. He was an ARVN captain in war gear and he had a small boy, about 4 or 5 on the handlebars of the bicycle in front of him. They were talking together and laughing at something. They passed me, the captain briefly looking up and nodding at the American driving by. That fleeting moment has stayed with me over the years as other, more dark memories have faded beyond recall. In the midst of war, strife, and darkness, life and love continue to sparkle and shine.