B-Day Memory
I wrote the following for my brother in law’s birthday memory book.
He is a bit ruff around the edges till you see him change a diaper or fix a child’s toy. He’ll drive to TN for a puppy or two hours each way for his sister. Give him a broken-down old house and he’ll build shelves and mount a TV and speakers by hand. That’s what I remember; a quiet competence. There isn’t anything that’s broken he can’t fix. There isn’t anything fixed he can’t break. Give him a couple years and he’ll build a family. Put him in uniform and he’ll stand a watch. I’m reminded of the first lines of Pharaoh and the Sergeant by Rudyard Kipling:
“Said England unto Pharaoh, "I must make a man of you,
That will stand upon his feet and play the game;
That will Maxim his oppressor as a Christian ought to do,"
And she sent old Pharaoh Sergeant Whatisname.
It was not a Duke nor Earl, nor yet a Viscount --
It was not a big brass General that came;
But a man in khaki kit who could handle men a bit,
With his bedding labelled Sergeant Whatisname.
Said England unto Pharaoh, "Though at present singing small,
You shall hum a proper tune before it ends,"
And she introduced old Pharaoh to the Sergeant once for all,
And left 'em in the desert making friends.
It was not a Crystal Palace nor Cathedral;
It was not a public-house of common fame;
But a piece of red-hot sand, with a palm on either hand,
And a little hut for Sergeant Whatisname.”
I know lots of good people. There aren’t that many who have fought and bled, who as Jeff Cooper said ride, shoot straight, and tell the truth. My grandfather was one. Ru is the other. It’s hard to fight. It’s hard to lose and keep on trying. That’s what I remember; A man that will stand upon his feet and play the game…a man in khaki kit who can handle men a bit,
With his bedding labelled Sergeant Whatisname.
He is a bit ruff around the edges till you see him change a diaper or fix a child’s toy. He’ll drive to TN for a puppy or two hours each way for his sister. Give him a broken-down old house and he’ll build shelves and mount a TV and speakers by hand. That’s what I remember; a quiet competence. There isn’t anything that’s broken he can’t fix. There isn’t anything fixed he can’t break. Give him a couple years and he’ll build a family. Put him in uniform and he’ll stand a watch. I’m reminded of the first lines of Pharaoh and the Sergeant by Rudyard Kipling:
“Said England unto Pharaoh, "I must make a man of you,
That will stand upon his feet and play the game;
That will Maxim his oppressor as a Christian ought to do,"
And she sent old Pharaoh Sergeant Whatisname.
It was not a Duke nor Earl, nor yet a Viscount --
It was not a big brass General that came;
But a man in khaki kit who could handle men a bit,
With his bedding labelled Sergeant Whatisname.
Said England unto Pharaoh, "Though at present singing small,
You shall hum a proper tune before it ends,"
And she introduced old Pharaoh to the Sergeant once for all,
And left 'em in the desert making friends.
It was not a Crystal Palace nor Cathedral;
It was not a public-house of common fame;
But a piece of red-hot sand, with a palm on either hand,
And a little hut for Sergeant Whatisname.”
I know lots of good people. There aren’t that many who have fought and bled, who as Jeff Cooper said ride, shoot straight, and tell the truth. My grandfather was one. Ru is the other. It’s hard to fight. It’s hard to lose and keep on trying. That’s what I remember; A man that will stand upon his feet and play the game…a man in khaki kit who can handle men a bit,
With his bedding labelled Sergeant Whatisname.