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Found a literary gem the other day and wanted to share it. Let's meet the author:
Agnes Newton Keith (July 4, 1901 – March 30, 1982) was an American author best known for her three autobiographical accounts of life in North Borneo (now Sabah) before, during, and after the Second World War. ...
[Her husband] Harry was Conservator of Forests and Director of Agriculture for the government of North Borneo under the Chartered Company, and was also Honorary Curator of the State Museum. He had worked in Borneo since 1925, and was based in Sandakan. ... Agnes's first child, Henry George Newton Keith, known as George, was born in Sandakan on April 5, 1940.
The Japanese invading forces landed in Sandakan on January 19, 1942. For the first few months of occupation, the Keiths were allowed to stay in their own home. On May 12, Agnes and George were imprisoned on Berhala Island (Pulau Berhala) near Sandakan, in a building that had once been the Government Quarantine Station, along with other Western women and children. Harry was imprisoned nearby. They spent eight months there before Agnes and George were sent to Kuching in Sarawak. They left by a small steamer on January 12, 1943 and arrived on January 20.[9] They were imprisoned in Batu Lintang camp near Kuching, unusual in that it accommodated both prisoners of war and civilian internees in eight separate compounds. Harry later arrived at the camp. The camp was finally liberated on September 11, 1945 by the 9th Australian Army Division ... All three members of the Keith family had survived their internment. ...
... on her release Agnes had gathered up her notes and diary entries from their various hiding places, and she used them as the basis for her book, Three Came Home, which was published in April 1947. It detailed the hardships and deprivations which the internees and POWs had undergone under the Japanese, and became a bestseller. In 1950, it was turned into a motion picture, with Claudette Colbert playing the role of Agnes. (Wiki source)
I recently ran across a first edition of Three Came Home and remembered seeing the black-and-white film many years ago. I fell into the book and barely came up for air until finished. Her account of the women's struggles to survive their POW ordeal is compelling, if occasionally nausea-producing. But I was struck by her chagrinned reflections on the war during their journey back to the US:
Physical conditions on the ship were luxury compared to our past life; anyway, we would have come in a rowboat to get home. But we had been the captives of an enemy race. When the Japanese browbeat, bullied, and humiliated us, I had been able to comfort myself by saying, "But Americans don't do that!"
Meanwhile, sitting in the [ship's] lounge talking, listening to the radio broadcasts, we learned the pay-off: The world had not changed. The Anglo-Saxons still despised the Jews, the Jews the Filipinos, the Filipinos the Negroes, the Negroes the Chinese, and the Chinese everybody. The Americans hated the English, the English hated the Australians, and everybody hated the Russians, who hated each other. Love of country flourished, while love of humanity withered; worship of God was present, and following of Christ was absent. This was the victory we had won. This was the world men had bought with their blood. This was peace.
We listened to descriptions by the soldiers of their rough treatment of the enemy, which they felt that we as ex-prisoners should enjoy. Sometimes I asked them, "Why did you do that? Did you enjoy doing it?"
The answer was, "They did it, so we did it too." Or else, "Oh, well, they had it coming."
I noticed a tall, unusually husky young POW on board who had both his hands bandaged. His story was quickly told. He had incurred thse injuries the day after he had been liberated from his prison camp in Japan, by beating the Japanese commandant and the second-in-command of the prison camp. He had beaten them with his fists until both Japanese were dead. He had broken his hands in the process.
Confused though our thoughts were as to the ideology of war, I did not believe that we had fought it in order to retaliate in kind for the actions which we condemned. But war brutalizes all whom it touches; if it did not do so, it could not be endured.
(pp. 306-7)
Well-said, Agnes - well-said.
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ON TO TOP COMMENTS!
From PateTX:
In this comment to DarkSyde's frontpager "The Ice is Melting", Ohiobama tells us everything we need to know about climate change.
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From Land of Enchantment:
Ray Radlein is surprised to get an answer to what he thought was a rhetorical question (in jotter this morning).
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From sberel:
For telling us how to win hearts and minds - From BFskinner's "Let's try to heal" diary: I'll be truthful here for the sake of by BigAlinWashSt.
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From TimeZoned:
My favorite comment from today was this little two-sentence situation comedy from darthstar: What would Halperin say about this?
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From Angry Mouse:
In eugene's story about the Yes on 8, rcbowman made this great comment: Can't Ken Starr & Patrick Fitzgerald...
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My own picks (just a few tonight as I've had a busy, busy day):
Sweet schadenfreude! I couldn't resist the news from Alaska: I just told my 17 year old: by Prairie Gal, Ask yourself by ogre, and So, the woman is Bristol's Meth-in-Law? by FischFry
Oh SNAP! Degrees of lameness: it's a sad day when... by willie horton
Many good questions for AIG today; here's a prime example: will your VPs, COO, CEO, and other officers by zenbowl
A way out of individual economic woes? I am not gay... by jbou
Meta-comment of the day: Rick Warren is secretly praying that Rod by spyguy999
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TOP MOJO - give some love to brillig, tonight's mojo-hero.
Top 30 Comments excluding search-identifiable tip jars, first comments, Mojo Friday and C&J:
1) I guess that depends on your definition by droogie6655321 — 224
2) I Love You Too! by DHinMI — 210
3) There are 26 pending criminal investigations... by Rep Brad Miller — 132
4) will your VPs, COO, CEO, and other officers by zenbowl — 116
5) Right, it can only be Jeff's fault, nothing to do by dansac — 105
6) I am glad for all of that disagreement, too... by Gray — 95
7) Closing Guantanamo is a good start. by BentLiberal — 93
8) I, for one, welcome our corporate overlords by wader — 87
9) Here's to unity: by feeny — 86
10) holy crap. by Christin — 83
11) Rick Is Identical To Most Common Homophobes: by leonard145b — 81
12) Jeff, you are almost keeping me from GBCW by dansac — 76
13) it really couldn't be about by keonhp — 76
14) Her appearance on B5 gave us... by khereva — 75
15) wait, did I miss something? by clammyc — 75
16) Are you asking that seriously? by kismet — 75
17) She appeared on Babylon 5 by sberel — 73
18) This is a winner: by JeffLieber — 73)
19) Cover: "If it moved, you shot it" by Scarce — 72
20) Isn't sexual repression wonderful? by Dump Terry McAuliffe — 70
21) SNL skit with Christopher Walken by malibu1964 — 69
22) I think this is a good effort, by TomP — 68
23) Yep. by Rep Brad Miller — 67
24) Oh, the full quote is worse than that: by pico — 66
25) Forgive the shortness by droogie6655321 — 65
26) I agree. by Kula2316 — 64
27) asdf by droogie6655321 — 64
28) Is the any Trekker who didn't have dreams by algebrateacher — 63
29) Graham - is the correct spelling. by Deoliver47 — 63
30) Needs more cowbell (The SNL Skit) by FresnoKossack — 63
Top 30 Comments with no exclusions:
1) Tips for the weary by WineRev — 358
2) Tip jar... by Kula2316 — 309
3) "When you speak of this, and you will... by JeffLieber — 308
4) Unity food or Unity flames by BFSkinner — 226
5) I guess that depends on your definition by droogie6655321 — 225
6) Ken Starr. by eugene — 215
7) I Love You Too! by DHinMI — 210
8) You are a brave, brave, corporate overlord, sir. by DemocraticLuntz — 209
9) Tips For... by Penman — 193
10) So who's going to the Inauguration? by donnamarie — 177
11) Morning MFers by donnamarie — 170
12) Tips for building by TomP — 164
13) Yup, thanks, jlms. by Its the Supreme Court Stupid — 163
14) rec this diary by InsultComicDog — 149
15) I had my first diary on the recommended list by betterdonkeys — 145
16) G'morning ItSCS by politik — 144
17) I am!! by arrows theorem — 136
18) with pootie pix! by jlms qkw — 134
19) good morning by InsultComicDog — 132
20) It was good. by Remembering Jello — 132
21) There are 26 pending criminal investigations... by Rep Brad Miller — 132
22) Mojo Morning MFers! by CandyKat — 129
23) Go Franken! by hideinplainsight — 128
24) If it's Friday by MKinTN — 127
25) reccd and tipped by Dissentinator — 126
26) not I by anotherdemocrat — 125
27) Yay! by CandyKat — 125
28) I should post a tip jar... by Gray — 125
29) Lucky MFers! by Velocity — 124
30) Friday Tip Jar by Bill in Portland Maine — 122
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Always the mountains,
va dare