It's all in how you say the word. If you say 'jalopy' with affection, it's a great car. If you can't help but to laugh or cry while using that word, you need to look for another ride!
When I was a kid growing up near Amsterdam, WWII was still in the minds of many of the older people there, including my grandparents. They had lived it. I have always thought of it as a heavy subject, as you say.
In every war, there are the young. Some become combatants through no act of their own. It didn't always work out so well as in this tale.
But that it could have happened this way is enough.
I have been trying to finish the long fantasy I'm working on for a few years now. It is substantially longer than anything I have written thus far. Hopefully, it will be done this month.
Everyone learns about unpleasantness at some point in life. It's a requirement for adulthood to actually work that we understand that some others out there are dangerous. And, that we have to deal with them, if society is to live on.
As I recall, a door is set up between two places, and only those two places. That's why there are many doors instead of just one that can take you to many different places. Why is it that way? Um...
I'll ask my Armenti buddy, Prosnit, next time I see him!