COMFORT - The Prologue

It was my friends and neighbors and the singing of Imogene's people that got me through that first year, after the war.

But to tell you the truth,
I never thought it would be a matter of just getting through.

For some reason, I thought that when my daddy come home from fighting, my world would be put back right again.

Not perfect right, of course, on account of Bobby dying of polio while Daddy was gone. And me catching it too, and coming home from the hospital on crutches.

Still, I thought Daddy and me both coming home would be like putting the last piece in a puzzle and sitting back to enjoy the pretty picture.

But hard as I tried, I couldn't make things be the way I wanted them with Daddy. I learned quick enough that when someone drops a bomb in one small place on this planet, it shatters the whole universe,

And not just for a little while either.
The breaking goes on forever...

POST WAR TRAUMA & COMFORT

War trauma seemed to be a recurring theme of Veteran's Day this year. It's also a theme in COMFORT, the sequel to BLUE.  So in keeping with Veteran's Day I'm posting the prologue.

 It was my friends and neighbors and the singing of Imogene’s people that got me through that first year after the war.

 But to tell you the truth,  I never thought it would be a matter of just getting through.

For some reason, I thought that when my daddy come home from fighting, my world would be put back right again.

Not perfect right, of course, on account of Bobby dying of polio while Daddy was gone. And me catching it too and coming home from the hospital on crutches.

Still, I thought Daddy and me both coming home would be like putting the last piece in a puzzle and sitting
back to enjoy the pretty picture.

But hard as I tried, I couldn’t make things be the way I
wanted them with Daddy.

I learned quick enough that when someone drops a bomb in one small place on this planet, it shatters the
whole universe.

And not just for a little while either.
The breaking goes on forever...

It wasn't until after the Vietnam War, that PTSD began to get the attention it deserved.  But within COMFORT, several WWII veterans find their way together. With a little help from Ann Fay Honeycutt.

POST WAR TRAUMA

Post war trauma is one of the major topics in COMFORT, the sequel to BLUE. Tomorrow I'll post the prologue.  But, for now, I want to call attention to a documentary on the subject.

Tonight on HBO at 9:00 you can see War Torn: 1861 - 2010 - about war related PTSD.

Trailer