The Piper On Everest

At last I've made it to the roof of our crazy world. No higher goal can be attained, there is no mountain that could offer a nobler summit. And swaying now, a bit, how odd that lack of air can make me slow and stagger in the snow and unforgiving cruelty of Everest. We were thirteen, experienced, mountaineers: Hamburger Yank, Know-all Kraut, Vin Rouge Frog, Olive Mafioso, Feta Greek, Herring Swede, Vegemite Aussie, Borscht The Russki, Taco Mexicano, Blubber Inuit, Ancient Hunzakut, Kibbutz Stein, and Darky Washington. Just three of us, and by sheer luck, came down again that day in May. (None meant to stay) . And come to think about the top and why we climbed and did not stop, all puzzled still, we conquered not a mountain but a fear within ourselves. The Piper did collect. And, in the end it was, for some, the final show.