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" (Permanent Musical Accompaniment To The Last Post Of The Week From The Blog&amp;#039;s Second-Favorite Canadian.) By far, the most interesting, and astonishing, story in any newspaper this week was the obituary in the New York Times for the great character actor, Charles Durning. I loved his work as Governor Pappy O&amp;#039;Daniel, as bunco cop Snyder, as Irish-jig dancing crook Jack Amsterdam in True Confessions, and, especially, as the widower smitten with Dustin Hoffman (&amp;quot;The only reason you&amp;#039;re still living is I never kissed you.&amp;quot;) in Tootsie. But I had no idea that his life was such a saga in its own right. Then came World War II, and he enlisted in the Army. His combat experiences were harrowing. He was in the first wave of troops to land on Omaha Beach on D-Day and his unit&amp;#039;s lone survivor of a machine-gun ambush. In Belgium he was stabbed in hand-to-hand combat with a German soldier, whom he bludgeoned to death with a rock. Fighting in the Battle of the Bulge, he and the rest of his company were captured and forced to march through a pine forest at Malmedy, the scene of an infamous massacre in which the Germans opened fire on almost 90 prisoners. Mr. Durning was among the few to escape. By the war&amp;#039;s end he had been awarded a Silver Star for valor and three Purple Hearts, having suffered gunshot and shrapnel wounds as well. He spent months in hospitals and was treated for psychological trauma...Mr. Durning was also remembered for his combat service, which he avoided discussing publicly until later in life. He spoke at memorial ceremonies in Washington, and in 2008 France awarded him the National Order of the Legion of Honor. In the Parade interview, he recalled the hand-to-hand combat. &amp;quot;I was crossing a field somewhere in Belgium,&amp;quot; he said. &amp;quot;A German soldier ran toward me carrying a bayonet. He couldn&amp;#039;t have been more than 14 or 15. I didn&amp;#039;t see a soldier. I saw a boy. Even though he was coming at me, I couldn&amp;#039;t shoot.&amp;quot; They grappled, he recounted later - he was stabbed seven or eight times - until finally he grasped a rock and made it a weapon. After killing the youth, he said, he held him in his arms and wept. Mr. Durning said the memories never left him, even when performing, even when he became, however briefly, someone else. &amp;quot;There are many secrets in us, in the depths of our souls, that we don&amp;#039;t want anyone to know about,&amp;quot; he told Parade. &amp;quot;There&amp;#039;s terror and repulsion in us, the terrible spot that we don&amp;#039;t talk about. That place that no one knows about - horrifying things we keep secret. A lot of that is released through acting.&amp;quot; The first wave onto Omaha Beach. The Bulge. Malmedy. I don&amp;#039;t think I want to hear about Hollywood liberals again for a while. Godspeed, Pappy. I came out of Les Miserables feeling a bit bludgeoned by the whole thing, but largely enjoyed it, even though that Marius character is rather a foof. I give Anne Hathaway huge credit for singing that well in close up, and Russell Crowe for bringing a more than creditable pub-band vocal to Javert, even though he seems to be Target A for the critics. The next night, I went to see Hyde Park On The Hudson, and decided that I have seen all the movies I want to see in my lifetime that begin with FDR&amp;#039;s getting a hand-job. One is quite enough. Man&amp;#039;s gotta have his standards. Lincoln&amp;#039;s up next. I&amp;#039;m feeling nostalgic for the days when the House Of Representatives at least could be bribed into doing something. I have no idea what is going to happen through the playoffs, but Minnesota&amp;#039;s Adrian Peterson is your NFL MVP. The Vikings have absolutely nothing on offense without him, especially with Percy Harvin injured, and he&amp;#039;s facing seven and eight guys in the box on every run, and he&amp;#039;s still flirting with the rushing record. We&amp;#039;ll be back on Monday with the last gobshitery of the election year. Until then, play nice, ya bastids, or I&amp;#039;m going to send Hugh Jackman to your house to sing loudly while keeping time with his adamantium claws. Meanwhile, here&amp;#039;s a video to liven up your viewing of The Sunday Shows. I didn&amp;#039;t think Schieffer looked that good in a Speedo. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a17038/out-on-the-weekend-122812/>