My friend Ed Balchowsky, an American member of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade who lost an arm in the Spanish Civil War only to be addicted to morphine for the next 30 years as a result of being given too much as pain medication following his recouperation, was a man who I admired tremendouly. Some saw him as a hero of sorts. Others saw Ed as a villian. I saw him as a youthful, advernturous and typical idealistic young person who did what comes naturally to the young. He followed what was CORRECT/RIGHT for him at the moment when possibly too much testosterone was colliding with his extreme ignorance to shape, and maybe warp, his impulses and choices. I made my own share of those "choices" when there, really, seemed to be NO CHOICE at all. It was clear in his mind what had to be done---and fully half of the people who went to Spain were killed there. Personally, I am still inspired by their dedication and their adventure. BUT I think the Gollum character, in The Lord Of The Rings and The Hobbit, was clearly the one of those in that tale who were real tragic hero types. (He was no Frodo, but an archetype nonetheless. He, like Walker, is not admirable or to be emulated. But I see some of myself in both of these creatures---and, indeed, in most people I know.-------------These are the people I'd rather be with in a bar swapping songs with when obligation and guilt haul me to less compelling family doings. -------- And yes, I'd love to have a beer or two with Walker ten or a dozen years down the pike. I think it'd be a great conversation.

Art Thieme