Tuesday, October 02, 2007

"The War" by Ken Burns...anyone else been watching?

I admit--it has had me breathless, in tears at some points... and yet I can't stop watching. I think it is important to watch. My father in law fought on Okinawa and Tarawa...and has the shrapnel to show for it. He is now in his eighties and suffering from Parkinson's disease.

When they showed the bodies in the concentration camps...I could hardly breathe. Such an atrocity, and yet I feel I never got the full sense of what went on from my high school history class. I think we were still in shock and denial then. Well, now this woman is no longer in denial. This...was...unthinkable. Hope we as a global community see some much better days.

5 comments:

Lynne at Hasty Brook said...

I really wanted to watch the series but I've been in such an emotional phase lately, I just didn't dare.

Carolyn H said...

I've been watching. My dad was a paratrooper who jumped over the Rhine.

the War is on tonight too, but I can't figure out what it will be about since they pretty much ended it last night.

Carolyn H.
http://roundtoprumings.blogspot.com

barefoot gardener said...

I saw bits and pieces while doing home care for a 96 yr old lady. It brought back so many bad memories for her, I turned it off.

Thank goodness for Alzheimer's, or I don't think she would have slept a wink that night.

barefoot gardener said...

I'm sorry, did that sound aweful? I didn't mean it to, I just meant I was glad that with her memory loss she soon forgot all the troubling memories that the show brought up for her and was able to go back to being happy.

AH, that durned foot in mouth disease is working full force today...I give up.

Deb said...

To tell the truth, I read this post again in the morning and I wanted to delete it, my emotions sounded so raw. But...that's what it's supposed to be, I guess.

Lynne- It would have pushed you over the edge. Believe me.

Carolyn H- My thanks and admiration to your dad. Yes, I don't know what they could base another episode on; we're not watching tonight, probably catch it later.

Barefoot Gardener- That did not sound awful to me at all...from what I know the short term memory goes before the long term, so even if it brought back bad memories, she soon forgot she remembered, so she was okay.

I had discussed this with The Hermit; he had told his dad about the series, and I thought maybe it would not be good for his dad to relive those old horrors, especially in his now-more-fragile state. Actually I thought, what good would it do. Probably better to watch the Cleveland Indians in the playoffs.