A Long Time Is Now Officially Numbered In 4 Years And Almost 1 Month... *sigh*
Why is that, you ask? Well, I moved away from home for one. I had a terrible (as in HUGE) falling out with my parents and they burned bridges of communication that still aren't yet fully repaired. My last computer fried into oblivion about 6 months before that huge life change. And the people I moved in with only had one computer that had been forever monopolized by the oldest (friend's dad) and youngest (friend's son) members of the family. I lived there for two - almost three - years. They were both the best and the worst two and a half years of my life thus far. Best: since I had a new freedom previously unrealized. Worst: it damaged my friendship with one of my previously staunchest allies. Luckily, that gulf has since healed, in light of her unexpectedly having a second child. Unluckily though, it was also in part due to her beloved father dying. Why must death always play a role in the healing of old emotional wounds. Death is a very curious balm. It either binds people together or it blows them apart. Luckily, for me (I didn't permanently lose my friend) and maybe also for her (she had to attain a new level of maturity at a great speed), I think her father's passing somehow both renewed our broken bond and strengthened it.
Speaking of strong bonds of friendship...The eye-opening Band of Brothers miniseries has recently come into my line of sight once again. But, now, I have a newfound sense of connection to and appreciation for it in a way that I never before thought could be possible.
I used to see it as just a historical retelling of an old war, whose ink is well and truly dry. I also viewed it as a rather excessive exercise in glorifying the concept of war. I'm no Quaker like Richard Winters was purported to be by some of his men, but, as a child growing up, war was the one thing I always thought was evil at its core and wholly unnecessary. Something to just use as a last resort, and only then after diplomacy had utterly failed first. I didn't see war "heroes" as being heroic. I simpy saw them as being normal guys thrust into extraordinary circumstances or situations at best, or as government-sanctioned killers and/or bullying thieves at worst. Regardless of their allegiance. Regardless of the side they fought for or the side they fought against.
In light of my new normal, however, I totally understand the fire-forged bonds that all military branches form during wartime. Which is why I love the relationship aka close friendship between Lewis Nixon and Richard Winters so much. Here, they are, opposites, almost extremes. But, they're standing together. Supporting one another, even when the chips are down. Lewis, the sardonic, sarcastic, gung-ho adventurer type. Winters, the more introspective, bookish, noble one. Two halves of the same coin. You can't have one without the other. Fire-forged friends stand the test of time. I oughta know. I still have my own fire-forged friend today. :)
So, in honor of the wonderful bond that is and was Lewis/Nixon, here's a few pics of them to show their level of love, trust, support, and friendship, one taken from each episode of the HBO series that was based upon their RL wartime European travails with the rest of the incomparable Easy Company:
(Pictures & chosen reasons for each are to come in due course, as currently I'm off to work...)
Speaking of strong bonds of friendship...The eye-opening Band of Brothers miniseries has recently come into my line of sight once again. But, now, I have a newfound sense of connection to and appreciation for it in a way that I never before thought could be possible.
I used to see it as just a historical retelling of an old war, whose ink is well and truly dry. I also viewed it as a rather excessive exercise in glorifying the concept of war. I'm no Quaker like Richard Winters was purported to be by some of his men, but, as a child growing up, war was the one thing I always thought was evil at its core and wholly unnecessary. Something to just use as a last resort, and only then after diplomacy had utterly failed first. I didn't see war "heroes" as being heroic. I simpy saw them as being normal guys thrust into extraordinary circumstances or situations at best, or as government-sanctioned killers and/or bullying thieves at worst. Regardless of their allegiance. Regardless of the side they fought for or the side they fought against.
In light of my new normal, however, I totally understand the fire-forged bonds that all military branches form during wartime. Which is why I love the relationship aka close friendship between Lewis Nixon and Richard Winters so much. Here, they are, opposites, almost extremes. But, they're standing together. Supporting one another, even when the chips are down. Lewis, the sardonic, sarcastic, gung-ho adventurer type. Winters, the more introspective, bookish, noble one. Two halves of the same coin. You can't have one without the other. Fire-forged friends stand the test of time. I oughta know. I still have my own fire-forged friend today. :)
So, in honor of the wonderful bond that is and was Lewis/Nixon, here's a few pics of them to show their level of love, trust, support, and friendship, one taken from each episode of the HBO series that was based upon their RL wartime European travails with the rest of the incomparable Easy Company:
(Pictures & chosen reasons for each are to come in due course, as currently I'm off to work...)