But wasn't it grand while it lasted?
Jackie, this reminds me of a scene from the 1970s movie "The Man Who Would Be King" based on Rudyard Kipling's novel, directed by John Huston and starring Michael Caine, Sean Connery and Christopher Plummer. (What a cast!). Caine and Connery are Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid kind of devil-may-care rogue adventurers, and they brave a perilous trek across Afghanistan in the 1800s to conquer and loot one of the "-stan" countries at the northern border of Afghanstan. (The scenery is spectacular!) Christopher Plummer's character tells them they are mad to attempt such a journey when the last white man to return from those regions was Alexander the Great some 2200 years earlier. This convinces Caine's character that their plan is sound. Alexander was a Greek, so he is told, and they are Englishmen. What is more, they have proof of their sanity. Would a mad man do this?, demands Caine, as he produces a contract wherein he and Connery forswear the comforts of liquor and women (of whatever color) until the deed is done. At last, our heroes make it to the fringes of the territory they have come to conquer, marked by a pair of fiercesome statues looming out of a blizzard at the top of a mountain. They are down to the last of the 3 mules they have confiscated from murderous marauders and Connery is snow blind. Suddenly, the ice bridge they have just crossed collapses behind them. Then they discover that their way ahead is blocked by an impassable chasm. They sit inside a cleft in the mountain and resign themselves to death, a prospect not all that agreeable because it will be slow and chilling (and not so bracing as a good battle with slashing sword and smoking firearm in hand, one suspects). Connery turns to Caine and asks him earnestly if, knowing he is going to die in this fashion, he still considers his life worthwhile. They both agree they have performed no good deeds "worth mentioning". Then Caine says he would not trade places with a king if it meant losing all his memories. They begin reminiscing about their many adventures and, soon, they are both laughing uproariously. An avalanche begins, tumbling from above. When Caine and Connery emerge unhurt from their refuge, they discover the chasm ahead is filled ... and they resume their journey ... triumphantly, of course.