21Dec05

In Washington, all seem to be into ponderous pronouncements these days. Here is a sage comment from a friend and instructor:

"Early in the American Civil War, a local gasbag was trying to organ ize a volunteer regiment in Wisconsin, whose commander he intended to become. Addressing the assembled men, whom he hoped to convert to volunteers, he sai d, ' Men, our motto will be, 'Victory or Death.'' A guy in the b ack replied, 'That' s a little harsh, Colonel. Make it, 'Victory, or pretty damned badl y wounded ' and I'm your huckleberry!

Like you, I'm ill-disposed toward clever slogans. They are usually created by comfortable authors who have never had the experience of crapping in thei r pants while huddling in the dark, alone in a cold, wet, pitiless ditch, with somebody out there trying to kill them. Those of us who have had this defecating experience usually prefer toilet paper, clean shorts, and a good supply of ammunition to clever phrases!"

/John