If WW1 Happened 100 Years Later

Lately, I've been spending a lot of time online. And by a lot, i mean, A LOOOOT. Not working is driving me crazy but let's not talk about this, it might depress me a little. As everything else in this life, the Internet has some good stuff and some terrible stuff. And today, i ran into something that made me smile but also made me happy. 

Well, "happy" might not quite be the right word. Let me try to explain. 

Back in the days, when i was in secondary and high school, we had History classes in which, apart from the French Revolution that i hated so much to learn about (so many dates, so many names, so many places to remember), we learnt about the 20th century. And above it all, World War 1, the Russian Revolution, the Great Depression, the New Deal, World War 2 and we pretty much stopped there, in the 1950s. Out of all these life changing events that happened in Europe (and the world), my favorite era was WW2. Probably because both of my grand-fathers had fought in it. I was fascinated by it all. And i really wished i had the opportunity (or maybe should i say, the guts) to ask my grand-dad to talk about it and tell me his story (one of my grand-fathers died when i was only 8 years old so couldn't really ask him). He had mentioned it several times, telling anecdotes and stuff but nothing really heavy and i'm only realizing now how much stories and how much History has gone with him :(

So when i found out that the "Musée de la Grande Guerre du pays de Meaux" thought about narrating WW1 through the eyes of a "Poilu" (French WW1 soldier) named Léon Vivien updating his status on Facebook, i thought that was a brilliant idea. The First World War took more than 10 millions lives. TEN MILLIONS. It's a conflict that lasted for 4 years. The last veteran died in May 2011 at the ripe age of 110. So who's there to tell us, descendants, about it all? I understand it's a war. For some, it's just a war a century ago. But my great-grand-parents lived it, my grand-parents were born during or right after it and whether i want it or not, it's part of my history too.

Leon's page is very well done. Obviously, an actual soldier wouldn't be able to update his status like he virtually does on FB but what a great way or learning more about a part of our past, using today's social media's platforms. He's posting pictures (real 1915 pictures), songs that were "hits" back in the days, his wife is pregnant and worried obviously, she comments on his posts sometimes, just like his fellow-soldiers and friends. 

I'm his friend now. So i can get updates on his every day life on the battlefields. Modern days wars are probably a million light years away from what it used to be a century ago but projects like this make it more real, especially for people like me who don't have friends or relatives in the military. Well, i do, and plenty. But none of them are on the firing line. 

I really hope he's gonna make it. 

I'm In Pain

Apart from the fact that I've been exercising like crazy lately in order to get a killer body i might be able to brag about some day, i'm also currently in another dimension of pain: emotional pain. And the worse part of it is that it's not because of something that has happened to me, it's because of something a very close friend is going through. 

Out of respect for him, i will not explain what's the matter with him and his life. But he's about to hit rock bottom and there is not much i can do for him unless he allows me in. I wrote him this long and maybe a bit harsh email explaining him the way i felt about it all. I told him things he probably didn't want to hear but I've always believed the truth is better to a lie and more than often, a true friend is gonna be that one person who dares to hurt your feelings for you to hear what you need to hear, and not just what you want to.

As i told him, i believe real friendship is like holy matrimony, for better or worse, in sickness and in health and that is truly the way i feel for him. I don't care what he's done or might be doing, don't care if he's healthy or sick, wealthy or poor. I don't care either if i'm the only one standing by his side in front of a million people. What i care for is him. 

But about it all, i really truly hope that he knows all this. That no matter what, i'll be there for him. Now, and always. 

It's in times of sorrow and despair that you see who your true friends are. I don't want to be that person who's only there when it's all nice and good. This is just not who i am. 

I've always been good at being insensitive and somehow detached of human's emotions hence being rather gifted at cheering people up in that objective and rational way. If you're looking for a comfort blanket, i'm definitely not the right friend for you. But if you want a person who's not afraid to maybe hurt your feelings with the truth, then you've come to the right person.

I never meant to hurt him and if i did, i'll be sorry for quite some time. But what bothers me is that his pain, his frustration, his anger and his despair are hurting me too. I feel them like they were my own. I don't think I've ever felt this way before. This new person i'm becoming is wreaking havoc in me. I'm not used to this. 

So until i know how to manage all this, i just hope he'll reach out to me. I'm just offering a helping hand. And all that my heart has to offer.