Elephants at Play

Fernando has always loved reading. He tells of how he would hide in the log pile outside his home just so he could finish reading. His life as a resident has cut all possibilities of reading for fun and limit his selections to the scriptures and medical reference books which I am sure that his patients enjoy whether or not they realize his sacrifice. Thank heavens for audiobooks.

Now, as he drives to and from work, he can listen to book after book. Some of the best books I have "read" are from this endless collection of audiobooks Fernando has gotten for himself. Currently, I am overtaken by the book Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption. Amazing, frustrating, incredible, almost unbelievable. More than once I found myself shaking my head in disbelief and audibly guffawing.

Last night, as I listened to the story of Louis Zamperini, I became livid with the choices people make that drastically effect the lives of others. Some upstart Lieutenant, unfamiliar with the workings of airplanes, ordered Zamperini and his crew to go on a search and rescue mission. The only plane available was unfit for flight in the sight of all pilots, but passed all the "test" some book read inspector gave the plane. Even upon explaining that the plane was unfit to fly, the men had to follow orders with devastating results. Over and over in the war, men were killed in non combat situations. Thousands of men lost to "war" because of the ignorance or inattention to detail by the superiors. It made me think of the saying my mom often says "When Elephants play in the mud, the frogs are the ones who get hurt."

Get the book. Read it. Or, better yet, listen to it. It is not for the faint of heart and there are war scenes that are unpleasant, but it has been an amazing life story to remember.