Tomorrow Is Another Day

There aren't too many great movie about the Revolutionary War.

There are great ones about the wars of the Roman Empire, so it's not just that the American Revolution was so far in the past. Maybe it's because it's hard to turn the British into on-screen bad guys?

Or maybe it's because the carnage wasn't as horrific as it was in other wars. There were more casualties, for instance, at the three-day battle of Gettysburg during the Civil War than there were in the entire Revolutionary War.

The most famous movie of the revolution is probably "1776," which is a musical version of the events of the day. There are other 4th of July movies, like "Yankee Doodle Dandy," which is a celebration of patriotism and George M. Cohan, not a war movie.

TigerBlog watched a little of the Military Channel yesterday, just enough to see a documentary about how the Revolutionary War battles at Trenton and then Princeton helped turn the tide of the war, just when it seemed like all was lost for the Americans. It's always interesting to see a documentary that describes Trenton as a "sleepy little town" and describes the march that George Washington took, essentially going up the Princeton Pike.

There were all kinds of marathons on yesterday as well, with a "Twilight Zone" one ("To Serve Man" is TB's favorite, though the entire series is wildly freaky and outstanding), an "NCIS" one (TB has never seen the show though he's pretty sure he'd like it) and a few others.

What TB watched mostly was "Gone With The Wind."

He'd seen it before obviously, and he always marvels at the movie, which is as good as any that has ever been made. It tells the story of the utter devastation that was the Civil War, and its images of wounded and dying soldiers in makeshift hospitals with overwhelmed doctors and nurses shows the horror greater than any battlefield scene would have.

The movie also tells of the effect that the war had on one Southern family, the O'Haras - especially their daughter Scarlett - and just how difficult survival was even for those who weren't militarily involved. Mostly, it's about what the dire situation revealed about the character of the people forced to experience it, for better or worse.

You need to have a large block of time available to watch it, as it spreads over 3:30, but it's worth every second.

The end of the movie leaves everyone wondering what happened next. Do Rhett and Scarlett live happily ever after? Does the grieving Ashley need Scarlett to take care of him because he's helpless to take care of himself?

With another viewing of "Gone With The Wind" in the bag, it was time to look ahead to July 5, because, after all, tomorrow is another day.

Because the holiday fell midweek, it didn't result in a July 4th weekend. Instead, it was one day in the middle of the week, which made last night feel like a Sunday and which has today feeling all the world like a Monday.

In reality, it's a Thursday, and it sort of made TB think that if the four-day work week every became reality, taking Wednesday off as opposed to Monday or Friday might make sense.

Meanwhile, as days go, it's about as slow as it gets around here. There is next to nobody in Jadwin Gym today, and were it not for the last day of track and field camp outside TB's window, there'd be almost nobody wandering around outside as well.

Because of track camp, Peter Farrel, the women's track and field coach, was around, and he stopped in TB's office long enough to talk about Ashley Higginson, who finished fourth last week at the Olympic Trials in the steeplechase.

Higginson missed out on the last Olympic spot by more than two seconds, which is fairly sizable in track and field, even for a 3,000-meter race.

Still, the difference between third and fourth is ridiculous. The top three go to the Olympics (all had run the qualifying standard; Higginson had as well), while the fourth becomes an alternate. According to Farrell, that means getting fitted for a uniform that she likely will never wear.

TB asked Farrell how Higginson handled the situation, and he said that had "with great class."

In all of sports, there can't be too many worse places to be than one spot away from making the Olympics.

In most sports, there's always next year. Here, it means waiting four more years, making that commitment over again.

There'll be another day. It's just that there are a lot of tomorrows between now and then.

Hey, finishing fourth is an amazing accomplishment in itself. Even if it stings in the moment.