Have Mercy! (Street, that is)

I love school holidays. Columbus Day, President's Day, MLK Day...they're all great! There is just something about being able to sleep in on a Monday morning that is truly euphoric. A holiday feels so different than just a regular weekend day--weekends are usually reserved for errands and church and general running-around. You always have them, and so there are always things that need to get done on a weekend.

But a free Monday--now that is truly a gift! I'm notorious for doing everything I have to do on the weekend so my Monday is completely clear for whatever I want to do. And when it's bitterly cold outside, I don't feel nearly as guilty when I don't leave the house.

I had about four things I wanted/needed to do today:  get my oil changed, finish the book I'm reading, write, and catch up on my DVRed shows. Last night being a Sunday, I had an episode of Downton Abbey to watch, of course, but I also had the premiere of a new mini-series that has me very excited.
Mercy Street premiered right after Downton. It is the first original PBS show in quite some time, and everything about it had me excited. First of all, the show is set during the Civil War. I come from a family of Civil War buffs. I've been to Gettysburg four times, including the 150th anniversary of the battle, and I've also visited the Antietam and Manassas Battlefields (Manassas is known by the North as Bull Run, for those of you who weren't aware). Gettysburg has long been a favorite movie and soundtrack in our home, and I have a travel dream to retrace the Civil War. That time period holds such a fascination for me, but one of my favorite things to focus on are the human interest stories. How regular people were affected by the conflict. 
Mercy Street is a 6-part miniseries which takes place in 1862 in a Union hospital that has sprung up in Alexandria, Virginia, and centers on the people who work and live in and near the hospital. The doctors, nurses, slaves, and other workers in the Mansion House Hospital come from varied backgrounds, so it will be interesting to see how they interact with each other. The show thus far has focused on Union nurse Mary Phinney, Confederate belle Emma Green, Dr. Jed Foster (played by Josh Radnor, who is Ted Mosby...it would be great if the doctor's last name was Mosely!), and Samuel Diggs, a free black man. It will be very interesting to see how people are portrayed when it comes to the slavery issue--will they keep things as historically accurate as possible or will they bend to what is now politically correct?
The premiere was an excellent episode, and they have already begun dealing with prejudice--though I bet it was not the prejudice that immediately popped into your mind. Mansion House Hospital is a Union hospital in a Union-occupied Confederate city. There are now some Confederate soldiers in the hospital, and Nurse Mary (an abolitionist) refused them treatment because they are not Union. It was masterfully countered by Dr. Foster, who accused her essentially of racism--judging the men based on the color of their uniform. As he put it, there are no Union men or Confederate men in their hospital, only wounded men. People don't bleed blue or gray. 
I will be tuning in next week, and I highly encourage you to check it out as well. I don't think you will regret it!

~Stay Gold!

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