"For a long time, the Japanese Imperial Army announced that, on other islands, the women had been raped and killed, and the men were tied at the wrists and tanks were driven over them," said Mr. Nakamura [...]
"I heard my sister calling out, 'Kill me now, hurry,' " Mr. Nakamura said, recalling how his 20-year-old sister panicked at the approach of American soldiers. His mother took a rope and strangled her. [...]
Minutes later, the Americans took them captive. [...]
His mother lived into her 80's.
"We talked about the war," Mr. Nakamura said. "But to the end, she never once talked about killing her daughter." - nytimes.com
How difficult would that be to live with? For a parent to kill their own child in extreme circumstances, only to find out that those circumstances did not actually exist, god - that would be such a huge thing to carry inside you.
I've just looked up the phrase "point blank" in Dictionary.com:
1 entry found for point blank.
point blank, TX (city, FIPS 58556)
Location: 30.74592 N, 95.21678 W
Population (1990): 443 (372 housing units)
Area: 4.9 sq km (land), 0.8 sq km (water)
Does anyone know the actual origin/meaning of "point blank"?
I'm glad you and your taffeta bustle are back! Hope that the hospital was of some help. Painkillers have got to be good right?
HUUUUGGGSSS>
From http://www.wordorigins.org/wordorp.htm (etymologyonline had a much shorter def)
"Point Blank
Point blank range is a range so close to the target that one cannot miss. The original sense, however, is slightly different. It refers to the range close enough that one can aim an artillery piece directly at its target without adjusting for the fall of the shot. The term dates to 1591.
But where does the term come from? The point seems obvious enough, it is from pointing at the target. It is the blank that is confusing. Blank, in this case, is an old term for the center of a target, a bullseye. It dates to 1554 and comes from the fact that the centers of archery targets were frequently painted white, and blanc is French for white."
Thank you! That was interesting. I was theorising that it was the range close enough that gunpowder was visible on the victim, but your definition makes a lot more sense.
*hugs* thanks sok :) yeah it was one of the less-stressful hospital stays I've had.
Posted by: phreq at June 21, 2005 03:36 AM