(Untitled)

[wildcolumbine]

I don't know what rush of blood to the head caused me to write this short piece. While Jack and Ennis are never far from my mind I haven't seriously written anything in a long time but, inspired by a throwaway line out of The Outland, I felt the urge to deal with one of the tragic aspects of Jack's life. Enjoy. Or not, as the case may be. Sorry for

Comments

[jacks_key]

That was good, but so sad! Poor Jack. So little happiness in his life.

[wildcolumbine]

That's it exactly! Whatever enjoyment he made for himself was only a poor substitute for what he really needed. BBM is truly one of the saddest stories ever written.

[wildcolumbine]

Hi again, fellow Aussie :) It's poring rain here in Melbourne, and posting a sad story seemed just the thing to do.

[wildcolumbine]

So we're near neighbours. How about that :)

[ramona4jake]

wonderful surprise to 'see' you here, Columbine ! your story, as usual, so sad and so true to our beloved characters.... I always wondered where from got Jack all this strenght to keep going, and putting a good face, and hide so much from so many - master of pretend ! what if, one day, he would have said "fuck it !" and left everything and everybody behind, and tried to find something to make him happy again ?!.... I kinda wish he did....

[wildcolumbine]

So long as that Dozy Embrace held its power over Jack he was unable to make the break. And I've always believed that he couldn't really make a life without Ennis, so once he lost hope he lost the will to continue. So tragic.

[tizi17]

.. and got careless because he didn't bother any longer..
yes. BBM, always a sad story.
but yours is very well written, thank you!

[wildcolumbine]

I think we agree about Jack's death, a kind of suicide by accident. Thank you for your kind comment.

[anonymous]

Hi - I am kathan12 from LJ. And I had to write this: No way was Jack's death an accident! The garage toughs had they ugly faces fixed on him and the foreman from TX for some time.
Yes - Jack got careless because he didn't have Ennis, wasn't with Ennis, and those murdering garage toughs finally got him.

I've always thought Jack & Ennis were so unhappy when not together, something so sad and unbearable was going to happen. A tragedy. IMO Ennis will self-destruct; I give him one to two yrs. If only ... if only ...

kathy

[wildcolumbine]

Hi, Kathy. Those deleted shots from the film certainly set up that scenario but I think the short story is saying something else. In the SS Jack is aligned with both Dido and Ophelia. Dido committed suicide and Ophelia did a kind of "accidental suicide" thing by placing herself in danger. Annie Proulx leaves it up to the reader, however.

As for Ennis self-destructing, my own view is that in the SS prologue Ennis is way older than he is at the end of the film, and he has learned how to live with Jack's memory. There's always been speculation about whether the prologue is his last day and that he will die on the road once he leaves the ranch he's on. My own view is that having Ennis die in the same way his father died is just a bit too uncomfortable and inappropriate. But that's just me.

[gibbous_moon]

hello old friend, what a treat to find a story from you...though a sad one, it suits the dark season. thank you for posting...older and wiser, all of us.

kj

[wildcolumbine]

Hello again! Nice to see some old (and wise) faces. It's funny - I hadn't even thought about the Christmas connection when I wrote and posted it.