I am so glad I found this story! I also love these characters, and believed they would be good friends if they ever met. I also truly appreciate your idea of what "what's coming after" looks like... it's very much like mine. I have often wondered why people often quote "and the meek shall inherit the Earth", and yet most people believe they're going to float on clouds and play harps in heaven when they die. "Religion" has been known to portray God as some kind of "General Burkhalter"... and I'm flabbergasted that people buy into worshipping a deity like that. Oh, if only Adam had left that apple alone...
I can't wait to read more of your work! With how you portrayed Garcia and Schultz in this one, I know I'm going to enjoy your other exploits with those "jolly jokers" in Stalag 13!

A nice piece of work. I would recommend a song for you: A Beer with Jesus. The performer tells what he would do if he had a chance to have a beer with Christ. You might like it.

Lovely little story. I've only seen one Disney Zorro episode (courtesy of YouTube), but Garcia did seem to be a fairly likable chap for all that he was the comic relief.

I am truly in awe of your idea. It's fantastic and well-written. I adore both of these shows to bits. I especially feel you did a good job of keeping them in character. The two most lovable Sergeants, enjoying a drink together. Aw, so in love with this fic, Thanks for sharing!

although I'm unfamiliar with Zorro, that didn't detract from my enjoyment of this story. It was so simple, poignant, and beautiful. Just sweet!

And I agree with your comment. There is something appealing about a "happy place." My religious views are the same as yours, but I also enjoy reading/seeing the type of fiction that explores this subject. (hence, one of my favorite films is the David Niven classic "A Matter of Life or Death." -also a war picture. I also love Beetlejuice!)

There is an old poem you may wish to look up. It's called 'Fiddler's Green' and it's about a place where all soldiers go when their time comes. Your tavern certainly fits the bill.

As you already know, I grew up watching 'Hogan's Heroes' and I have seen a few episodes of 'Zorro', so I had no trouble picturing this pair at their ease and telling tales. I could hear their voices in my head. It made me smile. Thanks for this.

I was rereading this little gem of a story and realized that I had never reviewed it. I really liked this. I wasn't familar with this particular incarnation of Zorro but I didn't need to be. The conversation between Garcia and Schultz is so well written - especially at the beginning where it is not clear who is talking and so I get the feel captures the feelings of both, a point that is made quite clear by the end with those final poignant lines. It is nice to see Schultz so at peace and even happy with the decision he made to know nothing.

A lady at my church said it best while she was hleping us decorate the Christmas trees (and I was wondering if the Methodists knew the Christmas trees were full of emblems of wosrhip from all over the world):
"Religion is for people who are afraid of hell. Spirituality is for people who have already been there."

I like your take on the afterlife, and thanks for Schultz. He was always one of our family favorites...as was Garcia. It was my sister (who researches even more than I do), that told me that Calvin was a better horseman than Williams in the Disney version. Honestly, I can't hear "Never Smile at a Crocodile" without thinking of him. He was a brilliant singer.

I agree that Klink made it to a better afterlife. There was something fiendishly unkillable about him-he was inept and a social climber and throughout the entire show you wondered who the real Klink was...in so many ways he played the holy Fool who did the best work by doing nothing. Not that I'm comparing him to Voltaire's example, but there was a strangely affable relationship between Klink and Schultz that they never fully explored. For that I will always be sorry. But that's what fans are for, correct? I hope you never stop writing. It's hard to get this show anymore in America. Too many people worry that it is not politically correct or sensitive. And in that hyper-awareness, they have lost the original meaning for the comedy.

A beautiful story that does capture some of the spirit of community and camaraderie that I picture as being an integral part of the afterlife! Thanks for a wonderful read.

Oh, this was real sweet. I don't really know the Zorro version with Garcia (I'm of the Mendoza generation), but the two seem practically interchangeable in this tale.

Lovely to see how similar their experiences are in a way. I bet Zorro would be one of the very few people who would have pulled off what Hogan was doing in his day! And their back-and-forth reminiscing, ending in the mutual, "I think we were good friends" is just perfect.

Well done!

This is an amazing story. I am only vaguely familiar with Hogan's Heroes, yet this was incredibly easy to follow. Your characterization of Sergeant Garcia is spot-on and I feel like I know Sergeant Schultz. While I hate to think of my lovable Demetrio ever meeting his end, the concept of the two soldiers meeting in a tavern in the afterlife is terrific.

One of my favorite parts is near the end when each man is lost in his own memories, and they are expressing their thoughts in tandem, ending with: "I think we were good friends." I love the rhythms of their dialogue and how it reflects the individual traits of each sergeant while painting a wider picture of their similarities.

Superb story! Your story cover is also stunning. :-)

I forgot to mention...terrific cover art, as usual!

Ah, I loved this. I remember watching Zorro on Saturday afternoons when I was a kid, and Sergeant Garcia was one of the most memorable characters.

"You know I had to darn all those "Z"s on my trousers by myself?"

Haha! I always wondered about that.

And you are quite correct: the two portly sergeants were quite similar in their attitudes and their relationships toward "the enemy".

I love the quotation at the end. It's very comforting, somehow, to think of friendships continuing to flower in heaven. And why not a tavern in heaven? It's a place where friends can find food, drink, conversation...things they enjoy in life, why not in the afterlife?

A nice story that made me feel warm all over. I never saw Zorro, but I was able to follow the story, just the same. It would be interesting if you wrote another similar piece, when all of Schultz' boys were safely in heaven with him.
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