Happy Veterans Day dear readers
Before I get to today's entry, it's time for the chapter and page count.
For the week:
CHAPTERS - 139
PAGES - 2,237
For the year:
CHAPTERS - 6,489
PAGES - 82,858
PAGES TO GO TO GET TO THE 100,000 PAGE GOAL: 17,142
WEEKS LEFT OF THE PROJECT: 7
Today's book, "Brokaw defines "the greatest generation" as American citizens who came of age during the Great Depression and the Second World War and went on to build modern America. The vehicle used to define the generation further is the stories told by a cross section of men and women throughout the country."
Sincere thoughts (I bet you didn't see that one coming, did you dear readers?):
- For today's entry I've decided to do something that I don't believe I've ever done with the blog, write a sincere entry that isn't buried under three layers of sarcasm (because even I have enough sense to not writing a sarcastic, mocking post about veterans.) But, don't worry tomorrow's entry is going to contain twice as much sarcasm as usual to make up for the lack of it in today's entry.
- I almost forgot about Veterans Day completely (because I'm so disorganized that I don't even know where my calendar is) and so today's book was a last minute pick, recommended by my sister. Let's just say a desperate e-mail was sent this morning requesting a suggestion. And I'm so glad she suggested today's book, because I loved it. I was only on page 2 when I got totally and completely sucked into the book. I would definitely recommend it. Now I will admit that being a huge fan of the time period could have swayed my opinion on the book a bit, but I think the book would still be interesting even to those who aren't so obsessed with the 40s that you spent waaay more time than is necessary trying to figure out how to make your hair look like you're in a movie from that decade.
- Reading the book made me feel really grateful for all of the sacrifices that were made by those who fought in World War II. So grateful, in fact, that it made me want to go find the nearest 80 year-old and hug them. And if I was the kind of person who engages in sincere displays of public emotion then that's exactly what I would do.
- My favorite passage came during the story of Lloyd Kilmer, a combat pilot during World War II who was a POW for 10 months, "Not long after that, an American tank rolled through the German barbed wire. Lloyd Kilmer's ordeal was over. To mark the liberation, the American rescuers went to a nearby church steeple where the Nazi swastika was prominently displayed on a flag. Kilmer says the men of Stalag 7A fell quiet as the swastika was lowered and the American flag was raised in its place. In a way he could not have fully appreciated at the time, that became a defining moment in Lloyd Kilmer's life." - Either my allergies are flaring up or I am actually capable of sincere human emotion, because that passage actually choked me up.
And now I think I'm on sincerity overload, so I'm going to have to go watch a soap opera or two and I promise I'll be back to my usual sarcastic self tomorrow.
