Tuesday 7 October 2008 photo 1/1
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Bara för att jag inte kan skryta med bilder -.-
There comes a time in every man's life when he needs to make a choice of great importance. That time sneaks up on you, slaps you in the face when you least expect it. And then, suddenly, without warning, you have to make a choice that will change everything you've ever known. And I knew the time for my really important choice hade came when I heard him say those words I'd never thought I'd hear: "You have proven to our city that you are the one man we can trust with this kind of thing. What should we do?"
I still remember the crowd holding their breath. The entire town must have been gathered around the stage on the plaza. There was snow on the ground, not a cloud in the sky and the air was crystal clear. The image is so vivid in my head that I still feel their gazes boring into me.
What was I supposed to do?
Tell them the truth to help them get away? There were children among them. Still, Adam's words still echoed in my head: "There is too little time. They will get killed if they panic. Sometimes you must make sacrifices." But I couldn't lie to them! Could I? Should I reassure them that I had been wrong earlier, that they should all go home and carry on with their lives? The little they had left, that is.
I remember Adam looking at me, my childhood friend, our youngest and slyest mayor ever, with those peculiar eyes. As if he knew I could only say what he wanted me to.
I remembered how hard I had fought to make them believe me, what I had gone through to prove to him and the other officials that the threat was real, and now... well, and now?
All these thoughts raced through my head in less then a second, and then I realized. I opened my mouth and said:"Ladies and gentlemen, it is as I fear. This threat is very real, and it will be upon us sometime between three o'clock and five o'clock today. Therefore there is no need to panic, just gather your most valued belongings and make sure you are out of here by three."
Murmur and shouts exploded from the assembled citizens, but they all scrambled to get home and to their cars as quickly as possible. Adam looked at me with admiration."I really didn't think you would pull that off without making them all panic."
I sighed.
"I did what I had to do. Now at least some of them will have gotten out of the city before one o'clock."
His expression was unreadable.
"I thought you said three"
"And I thought you said that sometimes you have to make sacrifices."
He was silent for a while, then he turned around.
"There is a free space in my chopper for you and your family. I'm sorry our friendship will have to end just when we finally regained it."
I stared at his back.
"What do you mean?"
He turned, slowly, and smiled the brightest smile I've seen on his face since we were kids, and somehow it made me sad.
"The mayor has to stay and coordinate the evacuation. I'll be going down with my ship."
And then it hit me, that somehow I had always known he was never the cold-hearted politician he pretended to be. And somehow I knew he had been planning to do this all along.
I grabbed his forearm, the gesture we always thought were cool when we were younger, and said: "Do you remember when we promised to be best friends forever?"
He made a noise somewhere between a chuckle and a choke.
"You'll never grow up, will you?" He let go of my hand. "But yeah. Forever" And then he walked away.
There comes a time in every man's life when he needs to make a choice of great importance. Sometimes you have to, not to lose everything that is dear to you. Sometimes so that you won't lose yourself. Great men are those that can make the most horrible decisions ever, for the greater good. I am not a great man. I am the worst there ever was. I let my friend die that day.
He had to be there, just to prove to himself and everyone else that he was not who he had become.
I admire him for that decision. And I, I just let him stay behind. I sometimes think I should have stayed behind too. But then I go to the memorial of all the people lost that day, and see Adam's name among the names of the people he died for. And I know he would never have let me. He knew I am the only one with enough knowledge to keep us away from what destroyed our city, to keep it away from us. He knew I needed to fill his shoes as the leader of the townsmen. I had to make the choice to be horrible, so that he could be great. Och om du orkar läsa allt detta och ändå inte kommenterar dör jag en smula på insidan.
There comes a time in every man's life when he needs to make a choice of great importance. That time sneaks up on you, slaps you in the face when you least expect it. And then, suddenly, without warning, you have to make a choice that will change everything you've ever known. And I knew the time for my really important choice hade came when I heard him say those words I'd never thought I'd hear: "You have proven to our city that you are the one man we can trust with this kind of thing. What should we do?"
I still remember the crowd holding their breath. The entire town must have been gathered around the stage on the plaza. There was snow on the ground, not a cloud in the sky and the air was crystal clear. The image is so vivid in my head that I still feel their gazes boring into me.
What was I supposed to do?
Tell them the truth to help them get away? There were children among them. Still, Adam's words still echoed in my head: "There is too little time. They will get killed if they panic. Sometimes you must make sacrifices." But I couldn't lie to them! Could I? Should I reassure them that I had been wrong earlier, that they should all go home and carry on with their lives? The little they had left, that is.
I remember Adam looking at me, my childhood friend, our youngest and slyest mayor ever, with those peculiar eyes. As if he knew I could only say what he wanted me to.
I remembered how hard I had fought to make them believe me, what I had gone through to prove to him and the other officials that the threat was real, and now... well, and now?
All these thoughts raced through my head in less then a second, and then I realized. I opened my mouth and said:"Ladies and gentlemen, it is as I fear. This threat is very real, and it will be upon us sometime between three o'clock and five o'clock today. Therefore there is no need to panic, just gather your most valued belongings and make sure you are out of here by three."
Murmur and shouts exploded from the assembled citizens, but they all scrambled to get home and to their cars as quickly as possible. Adam looked at me with admiration."I really didn't think you would pull that off without making them all panic."
I sighed.
"I did what I had to do. Now at least some of them will have gotten out of the city before one o'clock."
His expression was unreadable.
"I thought you said three"
"And I thought you said that sometimes you have to make sacrifices."
He was silent for a while, then he turned around.
"There is a free space in my chopper for you and your family. I'm sorry our friendship will have to end just when we finally regained it."
I stared at his back.
"What do you mean?"
He turned, slowly, and smiled the brightest smile I've seen on his face since we were kids, and somehow it made me sad.
"The mayor has to stay and coordinate the evacuation. I'll be going down with my ship."
And then it hit me, that somehow I had always known he was never the cold-hearted politician he pretended to be. And somehow I knew he had been planning to do this all along.
I grabbed his forearm, the gesture we always thought were cool when we were younger, and said: "Do you remember when we promised to be best friends forever?"
He made a noise somewhere between a chuckle and a choke.
"You'll never grow up, will you?" He let go of my hand. "But yeah. Forever" And then he walked away.
There comes a time in every man's life when he needs to make a choice of great importance. Sometimes you have to, not to lose everything that is dear to you. Sometimes so that you won't lose yourself. Great men are those that can make the most horrible decisions ever, for the greater good. I am not a great man. I am the worst there ever was. I let my friend die that day.
He had to be there, just to prove to himself and everyone else that he was not who he had become.
I admire him for that decision. And I, I just let him stay behind. I sometimes think I should have stayed behind too. But then I go to the memorial of all the people lost that day, and see Adam's name among the names of the people he died for. And I know he would never have let me. He knew I am the only one with enough knowledge to keep us away from what destroyed our city, to keep it away from us. He knew I needed to fill his shoes as the leader of the townsmen. I had to make the choice to be horrible, so that he could be great. Och om du orkar läsa allt detta och ändå inte kommenterar dör jag en smula på insidan.
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Det där är seriöst den mest inspirerande och finaste text som jag har läst på mycket, mycket länge. Jag älskar den.
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