day four
I agree with editor B. He summarized the historic and proud nature of today much better than I can right now. I watched the inauguration at work, sitting in the factory lunch room with a big group of employees, mostly folks from the floor. And mostly folks from the floor are immigrants. And that felt really right to me.
I talked to a Hamilton Country Sheriff today and to the Deputy Fire Marshall in Carmel. They were very nice to me. For some reason I want to mention them here even though I thanked them on the phone. It’s like I want to document and connect with every person who’s come into some kind of contact with my dad. The sheriff told me something I didn’t know but did not surprise me and that is my dad had been carrying around his Marine ID card in his wallet since 1946. Of course. To me it makes perfect sense. There’s not much left of it. Not because of the fire, but because it’s 63 years old. But for my dad, it’s just like it was yesterday. That’s what my dad told me once. It was like WWII was yesterday. This other guy, this stand up guy who was my dad’s emergency contact, and who is being soooo good to us, he told me today how my dad’s Marine unit suffered this horribly high casualty rate. Horribly high. This guy said, “your dad must have been charmed”. Funny thing was this woman said the same to me this summer, which pissed me off at the time.
The idea of being charmed for having survived made me think of a silly movie from the early 80s that I loved at the time – ‘The Survivors’ with Walter Matthau and Robin Williams. They are held up and Williams, in his trauma, wants to stock up on guns and knives in response. His partner says, “I want to live, I don’t just want to survive.” An important distinction – though surviving at least gives the option for life.
Loved that picture of your dad – it had a particular resonance for me yesterday.
Keep riding that wave. 😉
Thanks Pep. Yeah, that picture worked well for me yesterday too. I’m glad it wasn’t entirely self-focused.
This guy that said my dad must have been charmed, he was a vet too. And he loved my dad and knew him maybe as well as anyone. So when he said charmed, it felt like affection. Plus WW2 causalities were so massive for where my dad saw combat. Anyway, context, I guess.
But yes, I’ve like to commit to living and not just surviving. Something I’ve been thinking of a lot this last year. I’m glad you brought up the disctinction.