In reflection on the first few meeting with my team I am continuing to find general patterns of disposition. Aaron is very much a leader in the group, and takes charge without much prompting. Issa and Andrew are both more reserved, though Issa is less so than Andrew.

Issa also has a strong comedic, and jovial sense that really came through in our story circle,

Issa: “It was quite the interesting day when Jim-boe died, and it was pretty chill for the most part – except for…when we were in the trenches…unknown to them, the enemy was ready to fire…and unfortunately (Jimbo) the newbie didn’t do too well, he ended up dying.”

As I followed Issa’s cadence, I couldn’t help but laugh. The way he described things as “pretty chill…” was unhinged! But, for my part – there was a strong internal suspicion and pressure, a desire to place blame. How did this enemy know where these men were? The nature of the setting doesn’t allow for much intrigue (spies aren’t normally in trenches?), but my part did lead Aaron to settle on the idea that the main conflict of the story was that each of these men blamed each other.

In the opening scene there is a sense that everyone but Jim-bob came home, in tact – except for my character who lost a leg, and began to drink (to deal with his pain). Though, there is something to be said about the historical context out of which “trench warfare” emerged.

If it 1920s France, did the bodies even get back to America? Are the contestants even American? How do we avoid anachronism, and achieve reach fundamental lesson for our times?