Memorial Day

[selenite0]

We had our traditional Memorial Day observance on Monday. I read the Gettysburg Address to the kids, preceding it with watching the movie Gettysburg. Well, most of it. It's a bit longer than a six-year-old's attention span. So we ended it with Chamberlain's defense of Little Round Top. Pickett's Charge can wait until they're older and can handle moral ambiguity a bit better. Next year it'll be a WWII movie. Maggie is understanding the issues a bit better but I want to find something clear-cut. Gettysburg is still a good choice for the day. The movie does a lovely job of bringing out the issues people were fighting about with a minimum of lecturing.

Comments

[pokeyburro.livejournal.com]

It's too bad they're not older - around 12 or older, I'd say; old enough to get into sci-fi, namely, Harry Turtledove's Guns of the South. I finally picked this up and read it over the weekend, and I'm rather surprised how nicely it underscores some Memorial Day motifs. Lee and Forrest are written as closely as the author can to as they actually were, and how they might react to a decidedly fantastic turn of events.

[selenite.livejournal.com]

That's one of my favorites and I'll be recommending it to the kids when they're old enough. Not sure if they'll be up to it at 12, though.