"When the blast of war blows in our ears...then stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood." (Henry V)

Up at 6:30am (*&^%$%#!!!), a wedge of blueberry pie and coffee for breakfast--Rho had none; and then a trip to Boca for Rho's eye surgery. We got out of there at 10am and went for breakfast at "Lox Around the Clock". I'm happy to say that this time the cataract removal was successful! Now, in a few days, we shall find out if she is able to see any better in her right eye than before the procedure this morning. Stay tuned.

Some of you out there might be aware of the series called "The War" on PBS filmed by Ken Burns. I have not watched it myself mainly because RH+ was opposed to it. I wasn't bothered that much because I knew who won, and I didn't want to have to listen to some old curmudgeon with a walker recount his experiences. However, Rho's son, Jon has been watching it and he wrote of his reaction on his own blog:

Today I watched the final episode of Ken Burns's mini-series "The War" on PBS. As with his other movies, there was a lot of actual speaking by people that fought during WWII. You also got a sense of the great pain and suffering that WWII veterans felt upon their return home. Unlike today, there were no support groups for veterans to go and talk to. Back then if you talked to a shrink you were most likely deemed "crazy", and therefore unemployable. Veterans were forced to hold in what they were feeling, and dealt with their pain in silence. Watching this has also brought me greater understanding as to some of the things that my stepfather has written both in his memoirs and his online blog. It makes the admiration that I feel for him greater still. I fought in what would be termed "modern warfare". Missiles, and weapons fired at long ranges are what I experienced. But members of his generation fought battles sometimes for days and months at a time. Unfortunately more than 1000 WWII veterans pass away every day, many still bearing the scars of battle, and unable to talk about it. I would say if you have a relative that fought, let him or her(as the case may be), know that you are interested in hearing about it(not all the gory details), but what his friends and buddies were like. Maybe there are letters lying around that he wrote home… things like that. Don't let the chance to learn something about why people have felt the need to do something for causes greater than themselves.

Now, I've heard this story before; that is holding back what we were feeling, and it's quite true. While my family was growing up, I rarely...or never...spoke about my experiences in WWII. Primarily, I was just trying to forget the apocolyptic visions that kept popping into my head. The war was too close back then. Also, I never spoke about it in my classrooms except on occasion when some student or teacher asked a question. And there were other reasons for leaving the war in the past too complicated for discussion right here. I did manage to write whatever I could bear to write in my "MEMOIRS". But Jon is right. If there were a Civil War or Revolutionary War vet around, I would love to hear their stories. Thank you Jon for your strong views and your support...and I am not ready to be one of those 1000. "I have miles to go before I sleep; and miles to go before I sleep." (Robert Frost)