I've got a new bit of Combat! fanfic posted, for those of you who'd like to read it. It doesn't really have a title, although I call it "Lost". You can find it at http://www.storynook.net/WQSaundersentry.html . It's what's called a 'challenge entry'--every now and then, one of the members of the C!-fanfic-writers email list issues a challenge. They can set it up however they want, and then whoever wants to can write a story for it. I always tell myself I'm not gonna write for the latest challenge, I'm gonna keep focusing on whatever other story I've got going...but I respond to a fair number of them anyway. Sometimes they're really complex, like the challenge I wrote "Bulletproof" for, which said you had to have Doc, Kirby, Littlejohn, Billy, a sniper, a jeep, a flat tire, and Doc had to get really badly wounded. Or there was the Halloween challenge (remember "The Carver"?), and recently we did a Christmas challenge (for which I wrote a story that's not yet ready for public perusal). Anyway this particular challenge was pretty simple: just focus on one character who thinks Sgt. Saunders is dead.

I focused on Lt. Hanley, cuz I'm really interested in the relationship between him and Saunders, and how it changed once Hanley got his commission. And I'm trying to dig into the character of Hanley lately, cuz I've neglected him (in favor of my darling Saunders) for a long time. As the story evolved, it turned into a sort of prequel to my earlier story "Intermission" (http://www.storynook.net/WQIntermission.html). I actually wrote the first draft of "Lost" in the car on the way to my Grandma's funeral, so a lot of Hanley's physical reactions are drawn from my own experiences of a few days previous. And I've gotta thank my fellow Queen of America, ED, for indirectly inspiring me by commenting (ages ago) that a couple names in "Intermission" kinda confused her...

So anyway, Merry Christmas, and enjoy the new story!

This morning in church, our pastor said something in his sermon that I think gave me a sudden glimpse of understanding into the doctrine (?) of grace. Sure, I'd learned about grace from my dad and read about it and heard sermons about it countless times. And I'd learned the cool little word thingy:

God's
Riches
At
Christ's
Expense

But I'd never really quite gotten just how freeing the grace of God is until our pastor said it this morning, in words about like these (quoting from memory after sleeping 6.5 hrs between then and now, folks): "Not only do we not have to earn God's love and forgiveness, we can't." There's nothing we can ever do that could earn it, so it's totally a gift from God. And since we can't do anything, we don't have to do anything! Which is why our good works are fruits of faith, not points toward heaven. I don't know why, but this just all seems much clearer to me suddenly than it ever has before. And I don't know about you, but when somebody requires me to do something I get really bucky and stubborn and don't want to do it, but if I don't have to do something, I suddenly really want to!

Hee hee, posting that Combat! song the other day has gotten me back in the parody-ing mood. So here's a festive Buffy the Vampire Slayer song for your enjoyment:

"A Slaying Song"
by me
(to the tune of "Jingle Bells")

Graveyard smells,
Churchyard bells,
Cemetery grey:
Oh what fun it is to hide
And watch the Slayer play--hey!
Gaping hells,
Wicked spells,
Vampires hunting prey...
Oh what fun it is to hide
While Buffy joins the fray!

Headstones row by row
Guide her on her way;
In the shadows, though,
Her Scooby Gang will stay.
While she does her thing
We cheer with all our might.
Oh what fun it is to sing
A slaying song tonight!

(refrain)

A night or two ago,
We got all filled with pride,
And thought some deadly foe
We'd fight at Buffy's side.
But soon our spirits sank;
Our weakness we'd forgot.
That demon's battle tactics stank,
But scare him we did not!

(refrain)

I have regained my joie d'vivre! I woke up tonight bathed in a happy mental golden glow. It's the first time since Grandma's funeral that I've felt back to my usual cheery self. I had an incredibly good night at work, and came home full of Christmas spirit. Huzzah!

Yippeeeeeee! My Season Two dvds of Combat! have arrived! There are 16 eps on them that I have never seen before! I don't know if I can contain my joy. In celebration, here is a parody (sorta) about Combat! that I wrote back in 1999 (begun at 8:01am on August 13th, to be precise). Sing it to the tune for Don't Rain on My Parade (as sung by Bobby Darin for best results)

"Don't Ridicule Combat!"
by me

Don't tell me not to watch,
I've simply got to.
If someone's eyes get crossed,
It's me and not you.
Don't bring around a crowd
To ridicule Combat!

Don't tell me "Get a life,"
Just like my mother.
These reruns are my life--
I want no other.
Who told you you're allowed
To ridicule Combat!?

I'm gonna march my squad out
To a distant drum.
And if there's an ad break,
Don't change the
Channel,
We might miss the beginning
Panel.
Who cares about who's winning?

But whether you're the husband
Of perfection
Or else a pretty wife
With pure complexion,
Or parents who raised me
On fruitcake and cheese,

I shall ignore you
If it must bore you,
Don't say that sore you
Will be.
Saunders and Hanley,
Littlejohn, Billy,
Caje, Doc, and Kirby
Thrill me.

So get ready for me, Sarge,
'Cause I'm a-comin'.
Just give the order now
And I'll start runnin'.
Nobody,
I said nobody,
Nobody had better
Ridicule Combat!

("A Distant Drum" is the title of an episode, and fruitcake and cheese are references to the episodes "The Long Way Home" and "A Day in June", respectively)

I don't particularly feel ready to blog about Grandma dying yet, or about the funeral. Just thought I should note that she did die, and we went to the funeral earlier this week.