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Monday, January 16, 2012

War Horse


If you know how to soldier on, applause for you today! For no reason whatsoever I dedicate this day to the noble art of perseverance.

Those who persist when the going gets tough rank among the elite in my book. It’s hard work, being noble. Endurance takes grit and grace because pain hurts and fear is frightening. It’s easier to give up than to soldier on.

I had to meet my magazine deadlines last week with what felt like a red-hot spear buried in my neck, and that’s what started a preoccupation with fortitude. I have a bad habit of doing all my assignments in one long 11th-hour session, fine when you’re young and strong but my cervical vertebrae are disintegrating now, and I sustained a whiplash injury seven weeks ago when a Suburban plowed into my car at a crosswalk.

As I worked at the computer last week, someone heated the fireplace poker to red-hot and then plunged it into my neck. There it burned relentlessly until I sent off my last story (on time) and went prone for two days. Then we went to see Steven Spielberg’s War Horse this weekend.

I had to clap my hands over my mouth to stifle the exclamations that wanted to burst out. War Horse contains moments that myths are made of, and a lot of sheer nobility. From the first battle charge an hour into the film, men and horses mine the depths of sacrificial bravery in one concussive nightmare after another in that terrible war.

Modern life also offers ample opportunities to prove we’re capable of courage. If you’re persevering through difficulty today, I salute you.




11 comments:

izzy said...

Oh I salute you too! what a great 'share'. I think we do have soldiers inside us- I have been circling the idea of this movie- someone told me to beware violence around the horses...Since I have spent most of my life rescuing horses- I don't put myself through undue stress of movies & TV . Are there many dreadful war scenes ? or should I stick to the play. thanks.

Rachel Fox said...

Do you think little h would manage this movie? She's not keen (hates watching any animal suffer...never mind the humans) but I don't know whether to push her a little... or to leave it a year or two. There is no rush... just wondering since you've seen it.
x

Brian Miller said...

nice...i really want to see this...and glad you were able to meet your deadlines as well...

Enchanted Oak said...

The film demands endurance from the viewer too. I went knowing it was an appalling war. I'm glad I gave it my attemtion.

Enchanted Oak said...

My attention, too.

Anonymous said...

what a wonderful post, another words of wisdom that have a calming peaceful effect on me Chris :-) thank you! and you really make me want to see that movie now! :-))

Anonymous said...

Endure.

It's engraved on the big toe of my right foot. Permanently. The important things are worth standing up for, stepping up for and holding on for- long after everyone else has let go.

Thank you for these words, Chris. This one really resounds with me today; it's been a rough few weeks.

Anonymous said...

I'm saluting you right back, pretty lady.

I want to take you out for coffee when I go back home in July. It will be the first time in nearly 5 years that I have been back to California. I want to make it a good one.

Syd said...

It was a good movie and focused on the horrors of war. I think that was a major message. Thankfully, it was also a feel good movie with a good ending. I could not have taken a sad one.

Titus said...

Valuable thoughts about endurance: there are points in every life when endure is all one can manage. Things do, always, change though and it's so important to get to the other side.

I managed to cry at the brief extracts from the film featured during a radio programme - I'm particularly susceptible to animal films. I was wondering about taking the boys, but whilst one might make it through, I'm not sure the other would.

Lou said...

I don't know where I got my endurance and perseverance, but I'm grateful for it. Somewhere along the line I learned quitting was not an option..but that works both ways. I tend to stick with situations when I really should quit!

The cervical affects your entire upper body..I feel for you;(