These guys (a) are unarmed, (b) have no Ukrainian friends who will give them shelter and show them around, (c) aren’t prepared for the horror and brutality that awaits, and (d) aren’t even dressed sufficiently to handle the cold.

In short they’re foolish because they’re likely to catch hell and perhaps even die, but I admire the hell out of them.

A part of me (the romantic, non-cowardly part) would like to join them. Part of me (the action junkie) wishes I had been with those Sky News guys who were fired upon by Russian snipers and almost bought it earlier today. A part of me, yes, would rather die under fire than wither away on the vine.

But a larger part of me, I’m ashamed to admit, is a coward. Would I like to somehow grow out of that and become Gary Cooper at the end of For Whom The Bell Tolls? Yes.

Sean Penn, by the way, escaped Ukraine on foot two or three days ago, walking miles to the Polish border.