Into the West

I finished the HBO miniseries John Adams tonight. It took me awhile to get through all of it, because the episodes can be a bit heavy at times. Having now reached the end, I can say that I really liked the series. The last episode was largely devoted to the theme of death and love, which made it especially poignant. Some cool facts I learned from the show that I didn't know before:

- John Adams and his wife Abigail, had a very unique and close romance. For the majority of the first 14 years of their marriage they were apart, communicating only by letter.
- We have over 100 of these letters today, and they show that Abigail was in large part, responsible for the success of her husband. Really, the dynamic between these two was and is fascinating.
- John Adams and Thomas Jefferson died within hours of each other on July 4, 1826. They had a unique and difficult friendship, which was revived for the last 14 years of their lives. John's last words were, "Jefferson survives."

The last line in the series was a vo of John Adams, spoken while he and his wife looked out over the countryside:

Well, posterity, you will never know what it cost us to preserve your freedom. I only hope that you will make a good use of it. If you do not, I shall repent in heaven that I ever took half the pains to preserve it.

I really enjoy reading and learning about the revolution, and this series really brightened my day. I also have a special appreciation for some of this stuff since I have been to both Washington D.C. and Colonial Williamsburg. It was cool to watch the "making of" and realize that I had literally been in the jail where John Adams interrogates the British soldiers that he would later successfully defend in court. Of course, the above quote got me thinking about what I have been doing in my life to make full use of the liberty given me by all those who came before.