Dialogue between a C.S. Lewis and Paddy Moore
LEWIS: Are we not foolish, selfish humans? I think about why I am here and I cannot think further then that I want to attain to the hero I see in my minds eye.
MOORE: Look at all the young men. They see the same; the hero of the war; knight of the battle field, we all see it and want it at that. But most of us will never see our homes again.
LEWIS: It is a grim thought, is it not?
MOORE: (Moore looks bleakly at his hands which hold a gun) One of the most forbidding.
LEWIS: The real hero’s are the ones who give their lives. Not the ones that come racing home with a scar on his cheeks and a sword for his courage. (Moore grimace, Lewis glances at him) Paddy, you look dismal.
MOORE: I pictured that image, and I’m afraid it’s rather too much like I imagined myself.
LEWIS:( Lewis Chuckles) I too confess it’s the image I dreamed of. (A long thoughtful silence follows)
LEWIS: (A wry smile crosses Lewis’ face) Where would you be Moore, right now, if you could choose it?
MOORE: Anywhere?
LEWIS: Anywhere.
MOORE: There are a thousand places I could go.
LEWIS: Indeed there are, but where do you want to be the most?
MOORE: Well... America sounds wonderful. It brings new culture, tastes, adventures and such, but home brings memories, smells, laughter. I think If I had to choose, home would win.
LEWIS: I would have to agree. (Both stare off into the distance; lost in their own thoughts of home) We don’t think much about home until we’re gone from it.
MOORE: We’re lucky lads to have homes.
LEWIS: We are, aren’t we? (Moore nods, still thinking)
MOORE: I love my family. I just don’t tell them all the time.
LEWIS: It’s something we could all work on. I tell myself I haven’t the time for such trivial things as “relationship” talks. Yet when I sit here thinking of home, I cry bitterly at the thought that I never made an effort to talk.
MOORE: You’ve met my family, right, Lewis?
LEWIS: I certainly have! They’re wonderful people, Paddy. (They both smile at each other) Why, may I ask, do you put yourself in such a position as this, where you would leave them in bitter despair if you encounter fatality?
MOORE: Like you, my friend, I would hate to leave my family with that horrible weight, but I do what I think is best and I think what I am doing is right.
LEWIS: Cheers to you my friend! It’s a great accomplishment when one can decipher what he thinks is best and acts on it.
MOORE: Jack?
LEWIS: Yes?
MOORE: Can I ask you to do something for me?
LEWIS: Sure, Moore! I’m happy to be of service.
MOORE: If I die—wait, let me speak—I want you to promise you’ll take care of my family; my mother and my sister.
LEWIS: (Lewis looks pained, he and Moore lock eyes) You’re not going to die. I’ll see to that.
MOORE: Just promise me. Please?
LEWIS: …I promise. (Paddy looks relieved) But you must return the favor and do the same for my family.
MOORE: (Moore holds out his hand in agreement) I swear it. (Both men shake hands and wrap each other in an embrace. They pull away wiping their eyes)
LEWIS: Friendship. You can’t ask for more.
Reflection:
This dialogue is between Paddy Moore and C.S. Lewis, both of which had enlisted to fight in World War I. When Lewis enlisted in the army during World War I, he met Paddy Moore and roomed with him when the two men were training. They became good friends during that time, and shared many horrors of war, and most likely fond memories of home. In 1918 Paddy died. After getting injured fighting in the trenches, Lewis kept his promise and went back to live with Moore’s mother Jane Moore. Jane Moore became like a mother to 18 year old Lewis, and he wrote about her in a letter, “All I can or need to say is that my earlier hostility to the emotions was very fully and variously avenged.” Dialogue between a C.S. Lewis and Paddy Moore
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