The Day After

I was aimlessly perusing the television one evening after the kids were asleep and hubby was out of town. I settled on the SciFi channel, one that I rarely, dare I say never watch. I stick to the majors, TLC, Discovery, National Geographic, HGTV or Food Network. Anyways, what I watched was the most disturbing film I have ever seen.

The Day After chronicles the events of a small town after a nuclear attack. It followed the lives of a doctor, several in the military and a farming family. Deep down, I think that one of the reasons I want to move to the country and live off the land is not really to reduce the impact my family has on the environment. And maybe it is only partly to reduce the stress in our lives and bring us closer together and make us healthier. I think the real reason is fear.

I believe it is a possibility the US will undergo a nuclear attack. At the very least, I believe we will eventually enter another recession, one akin to the Great Depression. Maybe it is the pessimist in me, but this drives to want an independent existence. This movie took some of the peace of mind away from me. As I watched the characters of the farming family survive the attack, but then deal with the aftermath and the slow death due to radiation poisoning, it made me think. Wouldn't it be better to go quickly rather than suffer through all of that?

I have had nightmares nearly every night since watching the movie. Maybe all this cleaning and organizing I have been obsessing over is my feeble attempt at something I can control.