Keeping occupied while sick

I watched a film yesterday called Two Soldiers, which won an Oscar a few years back for “best short film”. It is based on the William Faulkner story of that title, about honor, strength, and commitment to duty as played out in the strong bond of love between two very backwoods brothers, a 19-year-old and the other just shy of nine. It was set in Mississippi right after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

While both boys obviously are well formed and strong of character, the point of the film is to show exactly how strong the younger brother’s character really is and what it enabled him to do out of his great love for his older brother. There is no spectacular heroism or sensational event, but rather is about a young boy’s single-minded focus on doing what he believes he should do, without allowing anything or anyone to become a distraction or an obstacle.

It’s really a story about what love for another can do for a person’s faith and courage to step out into the unknown with nothing more than the goal as a point of reference. It’s only 39 minutes long, without sex, violence or any obscenities, and is definitely worth renting, especially for boys.

I’ve seen quite a few movies over the past couple of weeks, having spent huge chunks of that time in bed trying to get over an upper respiratory annoyance that keeps coming back just as it appears to be leaving. Two trips to the doctor and a course of antibiotics later, and I think it’s finally become bored with me. I sure hope so because a neighbor’s visiting mother is staying with us over Thanksgiving--in the guestroom and bath I’ve been using as a hospital. Thank the Lord for Kat and her abilities with bathrooms and kitchens.