Sunday, May 03, 2009

Appearing in Print

I'm in the Buffalo News today, here. It's a rumination on my mother-in-law's recent passing.

As usual, I make my leaping-off point an item from a movie, in this case, Steven Spielberg's slavery film Amistad. Here's the John Quincy Adams speech from the film in its entirety, even though the part that inspired me doesn't come until around seven minutes in, near the end:



"Who we are is who we were." I might want that on my tombstone.

4 comments:

Aaron said...

Very nice.

The Earl of Obvious said...

To appreciate what is often taken for granted is the hallmark of a life that has been lived. Thanks for making me realize this..

Elizabeth S said...

Bravo, Jaq. Beautifully expressed. My thanks for sharing.

jason said...

Nicely done.

I grew up with the example of a stereotypical mother-in-law who gave the impression (I can't speak as to what she actually believed) that no one was good enough for her children, especially the women who married her boys. (The man who married her daughter was so mellow that it was hard for anyone to sustain any kind of dudgeon against him, or for him to hold grudges against anyone else.) My aunt, in particular, loathed her mother-in-law, and I witnessed many battles large and small over the years, and saw the effect it had on my cousins, and the extended family in general. I sometimes wonder if seeing all that strife as a child isn't a component of my own reluctance to get married, although The Girlfriend's mother is very different from my grandmother.

My point here, such as it is, is that from my perspective you were indeed very lucky to have such a mother-in-law. She sounds like she was a remarkable woman, and I'm happy for you that you had her in your life.