Cloudy to Extremely Clear

I mentioned earlier in the blog that my daughter presented me with a copy of the book Cloud Atlas, for Father’s Day.  We watched the movie version together while she was home a while back and she said she appreciated it because of some of the subtle differences from the book.  It made the gift of the book that much more special.

While I really liked the movie I loved the book.  It has the same sub-plots as the movie but, as with any book, it has the opportunity to provide a lot more detail and back story than the limited time a movie is allowed.  All the major characters and most of the minor ones find their way from the book into the movie.  There were some minor plot changes and major ending changes which I think the movie actually did a better job with than the book. 

The book though is a treasure.  I usually storm through a book, skimming large portions to get to the main plot points.  This book made me slow way down and for a very good reason.  Mitchell does a superb job of providing depth and detail in every sentence.  His characters come alive even though he exposes them each in the wildly different formats of his varied sub-plots.  I noticed the same thing recently reading Gatsby.  Mitchell has the potential to rank up there with Fitzgerald. 

The book is also a more coherent read than the movie which mixed up the stories into an almost dizzying swath jumping back and forth in time.  Both formats worked, again a product of the visual versus written medium.  I am once again astounded that the filmmakers took this book on and am so glad they did.  I can’t wait to discuss it with my daughter again.

Speaking of my daughter.  The pictures are starting to appear from the wedding of one of her best friends who has been chronicled in this blog before.  She’s my daughter’s former roommate and this past weekend she tied the knot with the dancing star from my daughter’s wedding.  It looked like a very hip, New York style wedding but anytime you get the curbside gals together – fun will blossom and permeate the entire atmosphere.  Congrats to the newlyweds!

Daughter and Globetrotting Son in Law Together for the Wedding

The Happy Couple - One Very Lucky Young Man

On a decidedly more somber note – I received the following message from an Army buddy about a true hero – someone who deserves a hell of a lot more attention and status than today’s preening celebrities:

“You're a 19 year old kid. You're critically wounded and dying in the jungle somewhere in the Central Highlands of Viet Nam. It's November 11, 1967. LZ X-ray. Your unit is outnumbered 8-1 and the enemy fire is so intense from 100 yards away, that your CO (commanding officer) has ordered the MedEvac helicopters to stop coming in. You're lying there, listening to the enemy machine guns and you know you're not getting out. Your family is half way around the world, 12,000 miles away, and you'll never see them again. As the world starts to fade in and out, you know this is the day. Then - over the machine gun noise - you faintly hear that sound of a helicopter.  You look up to see a Huey coming in. But… It doesn't seem real because no MedEvac markings are on it. Captain Ed Freeman is coming in for you. He's not MedEvac so it's not his job, but he heard the radio call and decided he's flying his Huey down into the machine gun fire anyway.  Even after the MedEvacs were ordered not to come. He's coming anyway.  And he drops it in and sits there in the machine gun fire, as they load 3 of you at a time on board. Then he flies you up and out through the gunfire to the doctors and nurses and safety. And, he kept coming back!! 13 more  times!!  Until all  the wounded were out. No one knew until the mission was over that the Captain had been hit 4 times in the legs and left arm. He took 29 of you and your buddies out that day. Some would not have made it without the Captain and his Huey.  Medal  of Honor Recipient, Captain Ed Freeman, United States Army, died at the age of 70, in Boise , Idaho.  May God Bless and Rest His Soul.”

R.I.P. to a True Celebrity

The exquisite bravery and honor displayed at the Battle for LZ X-Ray was chronicled in the excellent book and movie – We Were Soldiers Once and Young.