dual personalities

Well, that Christmas came and went in a hectic blur. We had loads of fun despite the unfinished kitchen: all the travel went well; church put us in the Christmas spirit; the cards on our presents included difficult riddles and crossword puzzles; there was plenty of music, and masses of food. We had long skype/facetime/phone conversations with son #2, and we even (mostly) dismantled the old piano preparatory to have it removed.

It probably wasn’t the best choice of Christmas day activity, but we learned a lot about pianos in the process.  They are mighty heavy beasts. The kitchen guys promised to move it, but they haven’t done most of what they said they would, so I may end up with a piano carcass in my family room. It’ll make quite the conversation piece.

The celebrations were over way too soon. Son #1 left Boxing Day morning because he had to work in the afternoon, and son #3 left the day after in order to beat the freezing rain and avoid the construction (a house full of workmen definitely puts the kibosh on relaxation and socializing).

In order to distract ourselves from the departure of our children, the DH and I drove to Ottawa to see a special, one-day-only showing of They Shall Not Grow Old, Peter Jackson’s wonderful film put together from the Imperial War Museum’s WWI footage, which he restored and colorized. This gives you an idea of the quality he achieved.

As with any colorization, Jackson’s isn’t perfect, but the stunning clarity and speed normalization (no jerky too-fast motion here) that he produced is beyond amazing. What had been ghostly silent movie stick figures he transformed into real, flesh and blood people that modern viewers can relate to easily. Sure, the film raises questions among historians and film critics — it should (see, for example, Johnathan Romney’s critical review), but I was really impressed by Jackson’s approach. He did not fall into the “all movies touching on war must be anti-war” camp or give in to maudlin sentiment. Nor did he attempt to represent the wide diversity of troop types and countries they represented, the home front, or all theaters of the war. In my view, he made excellent decisions.

After the film credits rolled, Jackson gave an 30 minute explanation of what he had done.  A couple of points he made particularly struck me. First of all, he noted that while many of the men would have been familiar with movies, almost none would have encountered a movie camera, let alone been filmed. As a result, they mug for the camera and don’t quite know how to behave. The effect is to make WWI seem almost fun; little of the fatigue, despair or horror got captured by movie cameras. Since the veterans’ narration was chosen to compliment the footage, it also tends toward the cheery. Don’t get me wrong, Jackson does not whitewash the war; the gory reality is there, too.

Above all, Jackson emphasized that he made the movie to inspire people to find out what their own ancestors did in the Great War — a motive of which I heartily approve. If you get a chance to see the film, do!

Now we head into a new year and it’s time to contemplate past, present, and future. I plan to do just that this week. Here’s hoping 2019 finds you all healthy, hardworking, and full of gratitude!

*chorus to Mademoiselle from Armentières, the popular and bawdy WWI song that Peter Jackson chose for the credits.

Stills from They Shall Not Grow Old recovered from Google Image.

Even though we celebrate responsibly around here, let’s take it easy today…

Christmas is in three days! For my family, this Christmas will be different in a number of ways, especially because — for the first time ever — we will be without one of our number. Our middle son will celebrate Christmas far away in Idaho.  The holiday will also be a bit truncated: our eldest will arrive on Christmas Eve and has to work on Boxing Day; son #3 is still finalizing his plans, but should arrive tomorrow, and since we did not win the construction race to finish the kitchen, the workmen will be right back at it at 8am on December 27. C’est la vie.

Channeling my inner Theodore Roosevelt, I’m planning to do what I can, with what I have, where I am. And I’m going to have fun doing it! Today is cleaning day. Dust lies thick and crisp and even on every surface, and nothing is where it is supposed to be. After the DH takes refuge in his office to grade final exams in peace, I’m going to roll up my sleeves, blare Christmas music, and get to work:

I’ll also decorate, wrap presents, and grocery shop. Then I’m going to collapse in a satisfied heap. Yikes! I’d better start soon —  it’s already 11:00 am!

I leave you with a verse from George Withers, an English satirical poet (1588-1667):

“Without the door let sorrow lie,
And if for cold it hap to die,
We’ll bury ‘t in a Christmas pie,
And evermore be merry.”

Be merry, for all is well!

*Freya Stark