Kill every enemy twice, Wilky said. Better than gettin' shot by a soldier pretending to be dead.

A journal is a very personal thing. As far as possible, to write this sort of book you need to know and feel your character as a person and then put yourself into that person's mind, place and time. Trying to stay in that person, place and time is a challenge when surrounded by this very different world of the 21st century.

Strong words outlast the paper they are written upon.

Never think that war is a good thing, grandchildren. Though it may be necessary at times to defend our people, war is a sickness that must be cured. War is a time out of balance. When it is truly over, we must work to restore peace and sacred harmony once again.

Do we make ourselves into what we become or is it built into our genes, into the fate spun for us by whatever shapes events?

The best teachers have shown me that things have to be done bit by bit. Nothing that means anything happens quickly - we only think it does.

Knowledge is easy to come by. Understanding what you know takes much longer.