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My Metaphor for the day

grant.jpg


General Grant at Shiloh in 1862:

"...That evening, the flash of Union gunboats shelling Confederate positions revealed the aftermath of battle. The Union Army had taken a terrible beating. Kept awake by the blast of cannons, Grant sought refuge under an oak tree, then in a log house which had been turned into a field hospital. "The sight was more unendurable than encountering the enemy's fire," he later wrote, "and I returned to my tree." Grant's most aggressive General, William Tecumseh Sherman, who commanded a division at Shiloh, approached.

Sherman had been under fire all day, and by the end of April 6th, he's convinced that the time has come to retreat from the field. But as he sees Grant, something in him says, "Don't give that kind of advice." He walks up to his friend, looks him in the eye, and says, "Well, Grant, we've had the Devil's own day, haven't we?" Grant takes a puff of his cigar, looks up, and says, "Yup. Lick 'em tomorrow, though..."

From PBS' American Experience.

Stop retreating. Stop whining. Lick your wounds. Prepare to fight again. In 24 months, we go back at 'em.

( And for the love of God, will someone find me a Sherman and Grant for this country?)

Posted @ November 08, 2006 09:38 AM

Comments

Per your comment on my blog: "Thanks for visiting"? Ha...you have no idea how often I visit, do you? You're one of my favorites, man.

(http://blog.mu.nu/cgi/mt-search.cgi?IncludeBlogs=49&search=varifrank)

Keep up the good fight...

Posted by: Sarah at November 8, 2006 07:05 PM

Yup!
Too many are trying to be the first out of the gate with the explanation/solution. We really need to sit under the tree, have a smoke and think for a bit before we set a course for '08.

Posted by: TBinSTL at November 8, 2006 11:06 PM

Grant got physically ill at the sight of blood, if I recall. How he was able to walk through the field hospitals in those days, without fainting, is something I cannot imagine.

But he did it. Willpower. Sun Tzu and the Japanese knew it well. Duty is heavier than mountains.

The second phase of the Iraq War, now begins.

Posted by: Ymarsakar at November 14, 2006 12:10 PM