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Music of the Ghosts


A love story for things lost and restored, a lyrical hymn to the power of ...
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Do you think the Old Musician was right to do what he did in Slak Daek? What would you have done in the same situation?

Created: 03/28/18

Replies: 16

Posted Mar. 28, 2018 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
davinamw

Join Date: 10/15/10

Posts: 3442

Do you think the Old Musician was right to do what he did in Slak Daek? What would you have done in the same situation?

The Old Musician feels responsible for Sokhon's fate, and a single question has tormented him for decades. Do you think he was right to do what he did in Slak Daek? What would you have done in the same situation?


Posted Apr. 02, 2018 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
Carol Rainer

Join Date: 09/03/15

Posts: 89

RE: Do you think the Old Musician was right to do what he did in Slak Daek? What would you have done in the same situation?

He was driven out of his mind. He did what he was forced to do.


Posted Apr. 02, 2018 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
rebajane

Join Date: 04/21/11

Posts: 320

RE: Do you think the Old Musician was right to do what he did in Slak Daek? What would you have done in the same situation?

It was the right decision because it’s what Sokhon wanted and it was humane to end his suffering. I’m not sure what I’d do in the same circumstances but I like to believe I’d honor a friends wishes


Posted Apr. 02, 2018 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
Maggie

Join Date: 01/01/16

Posts: 434

RE: Do you think the Old Musician was right to do what he did in Slak Daek? What would you have done in the same situation?

I believe he was right. This is what his friend pleaded with him to do. I am very sorry he lived with the guilt. He had no idea that they would soon be released. I certainly understand the guilt.


Posted Apr. 02, 2018 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
renem

Join Date: 12/01/16

Posts: 292

RE: Do you think the Old Musician was right to do what he did in Slak Daek? What would you have done in the same situation?

I agree with the others about it being the right and humane thing to do. I would like to believe I would have the courage to do the unimaginable but I'm not so sure.


Posted Apr. 02, 2018 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
kimk

Join Date: 10/16/10

Posts: 889

RE: Do you think the Old Musician was right to do what he did in Slak Daek? What would you have done in the same situation?

Even though they were about to be released, it seemed like it was still at least a little while before their freedom came. There's no telling if Sokhon would even have lived that long. I think the Old Musician's love for Sokhon's wife may have caused him to have more guilt than he otherwise might have experienced.


Posted Apr. 02, 2018 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
beckyh

Join Date: 05/08/11

Posts: 113

RE: Do you think the Old Musician was right to do what he did in Slak Daek? What would you have done in the same situation?

I only wondered why he waited so long!


Posted Apr. 03, 2018 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
Marcia S

Join Date: 02/08/16

Posts: 505

RE: Do you think the Old Musician was right to do what he did in Slak Daek? What would you have done in the same situation?

He was rescuing his friend in the only way he could at the time and under the circumstances. It was a compassionate act. He had no idea that the end of the camp was coming, only that his friend was suffering and that he could release him from that.


Posted Apr. 03, 2018 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
lynnw

Join Date: 09/01/11

Posts: 166

RE: Do you think the Old Musician was right to do what he did in Slak Daek? What would you have done in the same situation?

In that moment he did what was best. He had no way of knowing what was going to happen. In places like that you are only living in the moment.


Posted Apr. 03, 2018 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
Beth350

Join Date: 04/15/11

Posts: 89

RE: Do you think the Old Musician was right to do what he did in Slak Daek? What would you have done in the same situation?

I do think he did what was best in an impossible situation. By helping his friend escape his extreme pain, he did the only kind thing he could do. I don't know that anyone can say definitively how he might behave in similar circumstances. I would hope I would be brave enough and have enough strength in my convictions to also help a friend die if that was the only thing that could prevent more torture and pain.


Posted Apr. 05, 2018 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
MarieA

Join Date: 10/12/11

Posts: 256

RE: Do you think the Old Musician was right to do what he did in Slak Daek? What would you have done in the same situation?

He was honoring a pledge he had made to a fellow prisoner. The sad thing is that the Old Musician lived with guilt for the rest of his life. What a relief he felt when he could bare his soul to Sokhon's daughter, Teera. I'm not sure what I would've done under those circumstances except that I would try to prevent as much pain as I humanly could in someone who was suffering so.


Posted Apr. 07, 2018 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
Peggy H

Join Date: 06/13/11

Posts: 272

RE: Do you think the Old Musician was right to do what he did in Slak Daek? What would you have done in the same situation?

I think it was the right thing at the time as he knew his friend was suffering. The hard thing he then faced was that the regime was almost over giving him doubts of his actions. They had suffered a great deal and was Sokhon bound to survive.


Posted Apr. 13, 2018 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
janb

Join Date: 06/27/11

Posts: 16

RE: Do you think the Old Musician was right to do what he did in Slak Daek? What would you have done in the same situation?

Yes. What a difficult thing to do though! He carried through based on the friends wishes, despite the struggle inside. I don't know if I could have done it. Being in such a depraved state is so out of my realm of experience,
and as much as I believe myself to be "strong" in character, I don't know!


Posted Apr. 13, 2018 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
pennyp

Join Date: 03/22/12

Posts: 353

RE: Do you think the Old Musician was right to do what he did in Slak Daek? What would you have done in the same situation?

I don't really know what I’d do in this situation, i like to think that i could put aside my own concerns and do what my friend wished. I’ve never been in that situation so don’t know if I could follow through.


Posted Apr. 17, 2018 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
andreab

Join Date: 07/29/14

Posts: 101

RE: Do you think the Old Musician was right to do what he did in Slak Daek? What would you have done in the same situation?

The Old Musician was such a tortured soul - for many things in his life, not least of which was committing "murder" in Slak Daek. I had more problem with him naming Sokhun than I did with him following through on his promise to stop Sokhun's pain. That being said, with the torture he endured, the Old Musician's actions are understandable.

I cannot even imagine what I would do during torture but I hope I would honor a promise, as difficult as it is, to someone who was close to death and in so much pain.


Posted Apr. 17, 2018 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
reene

Join Date: 02/18/15

Posts: 497

RE: Do you think the Old Musician was right to do what he did in Slak Daek? What would you have done in the same situation?

The Old Musician did what he promised to do. I would not call it murder, he carried out his friends wishes. Unfortunately he lived with the guilt for the rest of his life. I don't think anyone can say what they would do in a similar situation.


Posted Apr. 18, 2018 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
donnag

Join Date: 04/18/18

Posts: 8

RE: Do you think the Old Musician was right to do what he did in Slak Daek? What would you have done in the same situation?

I think he made the absolutely right decision which was complicated by his love for his friend's wife, and the release of the prisoners shortly after Sokhon's death. The Old Musician could never have predicted the timing of the liberation of the camp. He performed an extraordinary act of bravery and it was so sad that he felt guilty for so many years for what I would call an act of humanity.


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