Before the war my maternal grandfather had a wife and ten daughters, a home, a fishing boat and a liveliihood. After the war, he had ten daughters, no wife, no home, no fishing boat, no livelihood and a country that wanted him to leave. He was probably fifty years old. Could you imagine? The dishonour, the shame, of having had one's loyalty and one's patriotism so questioned? For the only option to be to return to a land that is no longer your home, at the age of fifty, with ten daughters in tow, aged six (6) to eighteen (18) (approximate ages as I do not personally know all my aunts), to start a new life?
I never knew my grandfather... All I remember is an old man with a bald head who never spoke. He had never remarried... It has been said that although he died an old man, he died of a broken heart.
I had thought about this before, but last night it really hit me.... hard.
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4 comments:
Wow ~ it just hit me. Such a story of hardship and heartbreak. He must have been a very strong and brave man. Makes you wonder how some people can cope when things become so unbearably tough?
J:
If it "hit" you, then I did manage to convey my thoughts. Because I only know the bare bones of the story, this was pretty much all I could write, which is one of the reasons why I chose the title "Perspective". I have to put myself in his shoes, as does the reader, to fill in the spaces, to put it into context, to think, to imagine and to wonder.
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Thanks T! I did pop over to your blog to say thank you, but that I wouldn't be able to do Rule #2 and 3. Kind of cool though that I got one from you and Sunny.
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