winnie

just finished a long and extremely intricate account by winston churchill of the time between the world wars. the theme of the story is that WWII was one of the easiest wars to prevent, but repeatedly poor decisions by the governments of europe based on wishful thinking enabled germany to rearm. churchill tried for years to convince the british government of its continued oversight and the growing dangers that resulted. eventually it was too late. but he never stopped trying, even though most of his words went against the mood of the times. he was a nagging political presence, but his words were brought to truth almost like prophecy.

strange for me to think about people like this. people who clearly had some major historical role in their destiny. or at least it seems this way in retrospect. i used to think that people like this mattered more than other people. it's an awful thing to admit, but thankfully i don't feel this way anymore.

my father told his story over thanksgiving about how he's made a living throughout his life, his decision to preempt the draft and enroll in the military, his determination to have his own business and why, etc. i don't know how someone does this. obviously, necessity forces one to figure it out.