July 26, 2018 – davidbruceblog #2

Lord Talbot, accompanied by a trumpeter and a drummer, stood outside the wall of the French city of Bordeaux and ordered, “Go to the gates of Bordeaux, trumpeter. Summon their General to the wall.”

The trumpet sounded, and the French General and some others arrived and stood on the wall of the city.

Lord Talbot said, “English John Talbot, who is a servant in arms to Harry, King of England, calls you Captains forth, and this is what I want: Open your city gates, be humble to us, call my sovereign yours, and do him homage as obedient subjects. If you do these things, I’ll withdraw both my bloodthirsty army and myself. But if you frown upon this proffered peace, then you tempt the fury of my three attendants — lean famine, quartering steel, and climbing fire — who in a moment shall lay your stately and air-defying towers level with the earth if you forsake the offer of their love.”

“Quartering steel” referred to steel weapons that could dismember and quarter — cut into four pieces — bodies.

The French General replied, “You ominous and fearful owl of death, you who are our nation’s terror and their bloody scourge! The end of your tyranny approaches.”

In this culture, the screech of the owl was thought to prophesy death.

The French General continued, “You cannot enter into our city except by dying first, for I assure you, we are well fortified and are strong enough to issue out of the city and fight you. If you retreat from the city, Charles the Dauphin, who has a well-armed army, stands by with the snares of war to entangle you. On either side of you are squadrons who are ready for combat and who will wall you away from the liberty of flight. You can turn to no place for help. Every place you look you will find death in front of you with plainly evident slaughter, and pale destruction will meet you face to face. Ten thousand Frenchmen have taken the sacrament and sworn to make their dangerous artillery explode upon no Christian soul but English Talbot.

“Lo, there you stand, a breathing valiant man with an invincible and unconquered spirit! This is the latest and last glory of your praise that I, your enemy, will endow you with, for before the hourglass, which now begins to run, finishes the progression of its sandy hour, these eyes that see you now well colored and in ruddy good health shall see you withered, bloody, pale, and dead.”

Drums sounded in the distance.

The French General continued, “Listen! Listen! The Dauphin’s drum is a warning bell that sings heavy, serious music to your timorous soul, and my soul shall ring your dire departure — your horrible death — out.”

The French General and the people with him exited from the wall.

Lord Talbot said, “He is not telling a fable; he is not lying. I hear the enemy’s drums.”

He ordered, “Go out, some lightly armed horsemen, and spy on their flanks.”

He then said, “Oh, negligent, careless, and heedless military discipline! We are parked and bounded in a pale, an area bounded by a fence. We are like a little herd of England’s timorous, fearful deer, amazed and bewildered by a yelping kennel of French curs!

“But if we be English deer, then let us be in blood. Let us be in full vigor and not like rascals — weak deer that will fall down after suffering a mere nip from a dog. Let us instead be moody-mad, furiously angry, and desperate stags. Let us turn on the bloody hounds with heads of steel — hard antlers, or steel weapons — and make the cowards stand aloof at bay.”

The French would have Lord Talbot and his army at bay; Lord Talbot and his army would be like a deer making a last stand after being surrounded by hunting dogs. But Lord Talbot and his army would make the enemy stand aloof — stand back and be afraid to fight for a while, despite their advantage.

Lord Talbot continued, “If every Englishman sells his life as dearly as I intend to sell mine, then the Frenchmen shall find dear deer of us, my friends.

“By God and Saint George, Talbot, and England’s right, may our battle flags prosper in this dangerous fight!”

— 4.3 —

On a plain in Gascony, a messenger met the Duke of York. With the Duke of York were a trumpeter and many soldiers.

The Duke of York asked, “Have the speedy scouts who dogged and tracked the mighty army of the Dauphin returned again?”

The messenger said, “They have returned, my lord, and they report that the Dauphin and his army have marched to Bordeaux to fight Lord Talbot. As the Dauphin and his army marched along, your spies saw two mightier armies than that the Dauphin led; these two armies joined with him and also marched for Bordeaux.”

The Duke of York said, “May a plague fall upon that villain the Duke of Somerset, who thus delays my promised supply of horsemen who were levied for this siege! Renowned Talbot expects my aid, but I am treated with contempt by a traitor villain and cannot help the noble chevalier. May God comfort and help him in this difficulty! If he suffers death, farewell to wars in France.”

Sir William Lucy arrived and said to the Duke of York, “You Princely leader of our English strength, never were you so needed on the soil of France. Spur to the rescue of the noble Talbot, who now is girdled with a waist of iron and hemmed about with grim destruction: A belt of enemy warriors encircles him. Go to Bordeaux, warlike Duke! Go to Bordeaux, York! If you do not, then farewell, Talbot, France, and England’s honor.”

The Duke of York said, “Oh, God, I wish that the Duke of Somerset, whose proud heart prevents the departure of my troops of cavalry and will not allow them to come to me, were in Talbot’s place! If that were so, we would save a valiant gentleman — Lord Talbot — by forfeiting the Duke of Somerset, who is a traitor and a coward. Mad ire and wrathful fury make me weep because we die like this, while remiss, careless traitors sleep.”

Sir William Lucy pleaded, “Oh, send some succor to the distressed lord!”

The Duke of York said, “He — Talbot — dies, and we lose; I break my warlike word — my word as a soldier. We mourn, and France smiles. We lose, but they daily gain. All of this happens because of this vile traitor Somerset.”

Sir William Lucy said, “Then may God have mercy on brave Talbot’s soul, and on young John, his son whom two hours ago I met as he traveled toward his warlike, valiant father! For the past seven years, Talbot has not seen his son, and now they meet where both their lives are done. They meet only to die together.”

The Duke of York said, “Alas, what joy shall noble Talbot have to bid his young son welcome to his grave? Leave! Vexation and grief almost stop my breath, seeing that separated relatives should greet each other in the hour of death. Sir William Lucy, farewell; my fortune is that I can do no more than curse the reason — the Duke of Somerset — why I cannot aid the Talbot.

“Maine, Blois, Poictiers, and Tours are won away from England, all because of the Duke of Somerset and his delay in sending me my troops of cavalry.”

The Duke of York and his trumpeter and soldiers exited.

Alone, Sir William Lucy said to himself, “Thus, while the vulture of sedition feeds in the bosom of such great commanders, sleeping neglect betrays to loss the conquest of our scarcely cold conqueror of France, that man who forever lives in our memory: Henry V. While the Duke of York and the Duke of Somerset thwart and cross each other, lives, honors, lands, and all hurry to loss.”

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David Bruce: Politics Anecdotes

In the 1820s, in Johnstown, New York, a woman named Flora Campbell lived on a farm that had once belonged to her parents. Living with her were her husband and her son. When the husband died, he left the farm in his will to their son. The son then ordered Mrs. Campbell, his mother, off the property. Wondering what rights she had in this matter, Mrs. Campbell consulted the lawyer Daniel Cady, who informed her that legally a woman’s husband owned whatever property she had and that legally he could will it to whichever person he wished. Mr. Cady’s daughter, Elizabeth, overheard this conversation. She thought that the law was “mean” and therefore she wanted to use scissors to cut it out of her father’s law book. However, her father explained that this action would do little good. The law needed to be changed, and making that change would take an action by the legislature. As an adult, Elizabeth—better known as Elizabeth Cady Stanton—became a forceful and effective advocate of women’s rights.

In 2008, the twin cities of St. Paul/Minneapolis, Minnesota, hosted the Republican National Convention. The Minnesota state legislature wanted the Republican delegates, candidates, and lobbyists to enjoy themselves, so they voted to allow bars to stay open two hours later and close at 4 a.m. instead of 2 a.m. However, the St. Paul City Council voted against this extension of bar hours. Council member David Thune had a very good reason for voting against more bar hours, “I got 8,000 people who live downtown who don’t want a bunch of Republican lobbyists puking on the streets.”

When something is badly worrying your child, it’s time to take action. Jim, the 16-year-old son of young people’s book author Gary Paulsen, writer of Hatchet, once was badly worried about dying young because of “the nuclear thing.” Mr. Paulsen and his son took action by writing a letter to Russia. The letter carried this message: “Dear Russia, We don’t want to kill you and we don’t want you to kill us. Gary Paulsen and his son Jim do not want to blow you up and we do not want you to blow us up.”

While in Yugoslavia, movie star Kirk Douglas wanted to meet Tito, so he paid a visit to the British embassy, where he met the British ambassador, who told him, “My boy, I’ve been here for six weeks and have yet to see Tito. You don’t stand a chance.” The very next day, Tito sent his very own private plane to take Mr. Douglas to Lubiana, where the two men met. When Mr. Douglas returned, the British ambassador asked him how such an amazing event could happen. Mr. Douglas replied, “Mr. Ambassador, how many movies have you made?”

Monte Irvin was one of the first African-American athletes to play major-league baseball in the 20^thcentury. In Orange, New Jersey, Mr. Irvin wanted to buy property on which he could build a house, but he was unable to because of the color of his skin. Therefore, he proposed to his lawyer that the lawyer buy the property and then Mr. Irvin would buy the property from him. Unfortunately, the lawyer responded, “No, I’m afraid of that, and I’m president of the Republican Club.” Mr. Irwin got a new lawyer—a Democrat.

Ralph Nader’s father, Nathra, was amused when Ronald Reagan ranted about “Welfare queens” during the 1980 Presidential campaign. Nathra pointed out, correctly, “When the rich take our tax money, it’s called a subsidy. When the poor get it, it’s called Welfare. Actually, the rich are our biggest Welfare cases.” Nathra was known for discussing politics in his restaurant. His customers said, “At Nader’s place, for a nickel you got a cup of coffee and 10 minutes of conversation.”

In 1948, Harry S. Truman won the election for President of the United States. He was already living in the White House, having become President after Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s death. (Mr. Truman was Mr. Roosevelt’s Vice President.) Many people had expected President Truman to lose the Presidential election and to have to move out of the White House. Following President Truman’s upset victory, comedian Bob Hope sent him this short telegram: “UNPACK!”

A horse race at the Epsom Derby in 1913 led to women in England getting the right to vote. Anmer, the favorite to win, was well in the lead in the homestretch when a suffragette named Emily Davidson ran onto the racetrack, shouted “Long live women’s suffrage,” and threw herself into the path of the horse, which trampled and killed her. Her death gained lots of publicity for women’s right to vote, and Parliament quickly passed a law recognizing that right.

At a time of an epidemic of sexual assaults against women in Israel, the Israeli cabinet discussed instituting a curfew for women, thus not allowing women to be outside after a certain time. Israeli politician Golda Meir objected, “But it’s the men who are attacking the women. If there’s a curfew, let the men stay at home, not the women.”

At an airport, a woman was wearing a “John Kerry: A Stronger America” button during the 2004 Presidential election when a fundamental Christian couple came up to her and said, “A vote for John Kerry will hasten the Second Coming.” The woman asked, “Isn’t that a good reason to vote Democrat?”

The BBC’s Jenni Murray recognizes the influence that Margaret Thatcher had as the first woman to serve as British Prime Minister. When the news came that she would be replaced by John Major, Ms. Murray’s nine-year-old asked her, “Mum, is that right? I thought prime minister was a woman’s job.”

Noam Chomsky is so famed as an intellectual that often he has to schedule his speeches years in advance. Sometimes, years in advance, he is asked for the title of his speech. Mr. Chomsky says, “If I am asked for a title, I suggest ‘The Current Crisis in the Middle East.’ It has yet to fail.”

The political humor on the 1960s comedy show Laugh-In was not always immediately apparent. For example, you have to watch closely to see that when Lily Tomlin’s telephone operator character Ernestine dials FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, she uses her middle finger.

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David Bruce’s Lulu Bookstore (Paperbacks)

http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/brucebATohioDOTedu

David Bruce’s Amazon Author Bookstore

http://www.amazon.com/David-Bruce/e/B004KEZ7LY/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1

David Bruce’s Smashwords Bookstore

http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/bruceb

David Bruce’s Apple iBookstore

https://itunes.apple.com/ie/artist/david-bruce/id81470634

David Bruce’s Barnes and Noble Books

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/c/david-bruce

Edgar Lee Masters: Professor Newcomer (Spoon River Anthology)

EVERYONE laughed at Col. Prichard
For buying an engine so powerful
That it wrecked itself, and wrecked the grinder
He ran it with.
But here is a joke of cosmic size:
The urge of nature that made a man
Evolve from his brain a spiritual life—
Oh miracle of the world!—
The very same brain with which the ape and wolf
Get food and shelter and procreate themselves.
Nature has made man do this,
In a world where she gives him nothing to do
After all— (though the strength of his soul goes round
In a futile waste of power.
To gear itself to the mills of the gods)—
But get food and shelter and procreate himself!

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