"Miami-New York," by Martha Gellhorn

In Martha Gellhorn's "Miami-New York" piece I feel that Gellhorn's habit of taking new, often famous lovers may have led to her story about a 35 year old wife who has a momentary fling with a man she is sitting next to on a long flight.  This wife had just good-bye to her husband for an extended period of time.  Sadly, these good-byes were common in the 1940's.  These departing men were not simply going on business trips they were headed to war.  A terrible war that saw some men come home, saw many die tragically and left all with crippling memories.  Gellhorn spent plenty of time with these young, war hardened men during the second world war where she wrote about her experiences as a war correspondant.  Being a veteran myself I am sure Gellhorn saw many man recieve the dreaded "Dear John" letter written by lonely wives that could not take the separation any longer and had moved on to new lovers.  These wives aren't terrible people they are just lonely and depressed.  This story of two misplaced travellers was no long-winded, eighty year relationship with a picket fence and grandchildren, this was a lustful, sexual, momentary burst of sudden gradification that made these lover's hearts race just a little faster for a short time.  Gellhorn loved adrenaline, she placed herself in war which produces a rush, she needed multiple lovers, which also produces a similar high.  She was a wildfire seeking fuel, she would not allow herself to suffer from boredom, the fact that she killed herslf at such and old age tells me she wasn't going to let physical pain dictate her life either.  I think I would have liked her.