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The Garden Party

A date that will live in infamy. FDR

14 years ago

Dec.7, 19948. Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. What ensued changed millions of lives, mine included. There are fewer and fewer of us left from that horrible war and I guess we really didn't learn much from it.

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Comments (5)

anneliese_32
14 years ago
Nor of the subsequent conflicts, some of which were based on it. Was there ever a time when not somebody was at war with somebody, even if it was not among the big nations?

"...When will they ever learn, when will they ever learn!..."
petaloid
14 years ago
My neighbor, who is of Japanese ancestry, was a child there in Hawaii at the time Pearl Harbor was bombed. She tells me it was very frightening for her and her little brother, and she remembers they were given adult-sized gas masks to carry around.

As kids they didn't understand all of what was happening, just that there was danger and that they were questioned a lot about their Japanese surnames.

My folks were teenagers at the time, dad back east and mom here in Calif. They tell me the bombings, and the media frenzy that followed, caused extreme panic.

Some of the families of mom's classmates and of people I work with were sent to internment camps because their ancestry made them spy suspects. Lost their homes, belongings, bank accounts and all, through no fault of their own.

Defense in response to attack is understandable, but we teach small children to use words, not fists, to solve problems. Lots of the grownups missed out on that concept.
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'a date that will live in infamy'
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It's good that you are back with us. I think the last week's postings have been rather quiet and sedate - possibly a side-effect of all that T-day food. IMO, Emma qualifies as being one of Austen's dullest books (and I usually enjoy reading Austen). Even the rhythm of the writing is dull. Put the book back and let it lay around for another 30 years; maybe a great-granddaughter will find it interesting. Does anyone remember who wrote, or the title of the book, presenting [in fictionalized form] alternating stories of the bombing and the following events as though narrated by an American sailor in Hawaii, a Japanese pilot, a Congressman, a Japanese businessman, etc. I think written in the early to mid-60's. It wasn't a big, sweeping novel that made 'best of' lists; but I've never forgotten the description of the sailor's wife as she saw the planes swooping down to the ships, one of which held her husband; or the scene which had the Japanese mother returning home after grocery shopping, to find her husband had recieved word of their only son who had become a kamikaze pilot.
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Won't be back until Monday so,
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If the food is composed of those memories which sustain us, I don't agree at all. While sometimes we do seem to lose the good memories, often they are just stored at the back of the shelf, and can unexpectedly present themselves when the proper nudge occurs. I've found that Gandle especially has the knack of nudging, when he recalls his childhood events, they often nudge similar or dissimilar from long-forgotten niches in my memory. Which seems to make this a good time to say, Thanks for the memories!
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off topic but very relevant
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I was born after WWII but lived in a glorious but quite remote place in England. We had no car, no bathroom or hot water, no power supply and only propane gas lighting in 2 rooms, candles for the rest. We eventually had a propane gas 2 burner stove that supplemented cooking on the open fire and in the oven heated by the fire. We had dripping, rather than running, water. No telephone or TV of course! The first TV I ever saw was built by my uncle. There was one channel that broadcast only a few hours each day. With no heating other than open fires the house would be pretty cold in winter. My brother used to dare me to put my bare foot on the frosty windows so that we could look out on the winter wonderland! Baths were taken across the yard in a 'wash house' (where laundry was done). Water was heated by burning logs in a grate beneath a vat-like 'copper'. My mother made the wash house cozy with rugs on the stone floors and curtains at the windows. The bath was tin and placed on the floor. I remember our glowing faces after all that warmth and then a quick run in bathrobes and slippers through the deep snow in the yard. My father made me some snow shoes so that I could get to school though the deep snow drifts. School until I was eleven years old was about 2 miles from home. Summers were blissfully spent catching rabbits (by stalking) and trout (by tickling) though never harming them, and picnics. I wandered at will with no thought of danger and spent day after day helping our farmer neighbor with his animals or crops. My mother could see us from our windows, the old farmer and his little buddy, side by side on his tractor as he plowed, singing at the tops of our voices! Conditions were hard, the life was wonderful. Our family was close and laughter and conversation were endless. We were never bored, our home was filled with books and the outdoors provided more entertainment than we ever had time for! Happy days!
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How to date a woman - courtship advices needed
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Comments (25)
I was 27 when I met my now husband, who was 42 at the time. So the ages are similar. He was divorced and had a young daughter. Honestly I realize it was naivete on my part, but his having a daughter was "neat" to me. I had no inkling of how fraught with tension etc. the whole stepchildren issue can apparently be. I'm actually glad now that I was a bit naive, because the daughter and I have, from the get go, had a wonderful relationship. One thing that in hindsight I really appreciate, (because I'm a mom myself now), is that DH waited about 6 months before even introducing the two of us. And even after the introduction, we both made sure dad and daughter had most of their together time by themselves. In other words, just because he was in love with me didn't mean she was expected to be. Another thing I'd like to add.... when I first met DH, I was instantly attracted to his secure sense of self. All the men my age were still trying hard to prove they were the best, clawing their way up the corp. ladder, buying fancy cars and expensive clothes etc. -all trying to fit in and be the best. It was so relaxing and refreshing to be with someone who already knew who he was, and who was past all that preening stage. It is hard to describe, but I so clearly remember noticing it and commenting to friends and family. So your friend may have an advantage he isn't even aware of. Honestly, I think the biggest thing is to get to know HER, and then do thoughtful things that hit the spot because he knows her so well. I've never been a flowers girl, for example. But if a boyfriend made me a CD of all my favorite songs, or bought me a book I had mentioned, etc. -that would go straight to my heart. The other thing I think is that women watch the way their prospective men interact with others, not just her. Do they generally and genuinely act kindly, compassionately and respectfully toward the shop clerk, the waiter, people in line, their grandmother, etc....
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mawheel
14 years ago
A workman was at our house, this morning. As I was writing him a check, he asked the date. "Dec. 7th, Pearl Harbor Day", my DH and I said at the same time. "Oh", he said, "I wasn't born till 1954"--and he's a grandfather!

(Gandle, I know you meant to type 1941, but some may not.)
calliope
14 years ago
I didn't come along until my father came home from the wars, but being the child of parents who were young adults when it happened, has left an indelible mark on me.

I don't think a 'Pearl Harbor' day went by but what my parents didn't mention it as soon as they looked at a calendar, and then pause for a few minutes, lost in thought.

One day I got brave/curious enough to ask my mother if she remembers what they were doing that day. She told me she was at home for lunch from the little pottery across the road from their house when the lady next door ran over and told her to turn on their radio. Then she walked up the road to the tannery where my father worked and told him. Life changed for them at that point. My father's brother was the first to enlist and he was killed shortly after the troops landed in Normandy. As soon as that happened, my father enlisted. My sister was born the day after my mother received the telegram he was missing in action.

I suppose the significance of that day shall no longer be on the public's lips when it rolls around anymore when people of my generation leave this earth. It'll be just another piece of ancient history.
Janis_G
14 years ago
It might be just a piece of ancient history for future
generations, Suzy, as you so wisely pointed out, but while
my generation is alive we will
continue to be grateful to the men and women who answered
the call to fight for our country and it's freedoms.
They will be remembered.

War is a horrible thing, it should never ever be taken
lightly when we ask our soldiers to go and make the
sacrifices that they and their families make.

May God bless each and every one of them.

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