John Adams

I just finished watching the John Adams TV miniseries &......Wow! Normally I find it difficult to think of John Adams & historical figures of this era as real people or identify with them in any personal way. Things were so different & strange back then & lets face it, all we ever see are stuffy looking pictures in history books. But, I must say, this HBO series does a terrific job at breathing life into it all! (Paul Giamati & Laura Linney play the parts of John & Abigail Adams).The scenes that gave me chills & goosebumps:

Definitely, the swearing in of our very first POTUS, George Washington. My eyes welled up. I wish I could go back in time & be there...just for that one thrilling moment.

Secondly, the smallpox vaccinations. who knew they were giving smallpox vaccinations all the way back then?!! And it was not given in the handy form of a needle poke like it is today. I'll let you watch & see.

Third, watching slaves build the White House made me feel ashamed. What kind of sick irony is that, huh?

And lastly, when the Adams' daughter finds out she has breast cancer. What? Am I the only one shocked they were diagnosing it back then?! Well, I'm glad. But when she gets a mastectomy, without anesthesia...that's the scene that gave me chills up my spine.

You get all the basic historical information in this film that you learned in history class, but you also get to peek in on John Adams personal & family life. It's great! They should do a series like this on other historical figures.

A few other things of note: I loved how influential Abigail was in John's life.....& thank goodness men stopped wearing wigs!

Melissa