Interview With Old Ned

We knew he had seen it all, a willing participant in events considered heroic sixty years past, still lucid and clear, a history eagerly to be read! "Things were different then", was how he began each answer, and then his voice dropped and faded as he realized the hopelessness of words. "Things were different then", was all that he could muster to explain a world light years away. His slight smile betrayed that he feared to say much more. The meanings all had changed. He knew that what once was considered brave was now looked on with disdain. What had mattered once had become irrelevant. "Things were different then", had become the best response.