Big Read Kick Off Snapshots

I attended the Big Read kick off of The Things They Carried by O’Brien yesterday at the Lansing Community Library.  Here are a few photos I took with my smartphone (flash turned off):

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The local American Legion chapter and active serving military came to show their support.
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Terri Wojtalewicz, Youth Services Librarian at the Lansing Community Library, addresses the audience prior to the viewing of the documentary produced by students of Lansing High School.
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During intermission, Colonel Devine shared her insights from the documentary.
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The library has a drop box for cards and letters to be delivered to service men and women deployed overseas.

 

I have not yet started reading The Things They Carried, but the documentary of interviews with living combat veterans definitely got me thinking.  I now wish to write letters to all my living family members who are veterans and ask of them the questions I heard asked by the students in their documentary.  Sadly, I desperately wanted to ask them of those who have already left us, namely, my father-in-law, my grandfathers and my great-grandfather.

But that regret just makes me more determined to not waste any more time.  My apologies in advance to friends and family whom I will be ‘bothering’ in the near future, once I read The Things They Carried, devise an interview and a plan of action to capture those memories on paper, in audio or video.  Whatever they are most comfortable with.

The next event on the schedule is a book discussion lead by Tom Prasch, History Department Chair at Washburn University.  Join us on Wednesday, November 19, 2014 at 6:30 p.m. at the Lansing Community Library to share insights from The Things They Carried.

 

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Thank you American Legion Post 411 and USAR Community Network of Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas.