For the Soldiers

Nobody's Opinion: Hey, I COULD write something really soppy on this memorial day. In fact I did, and erased it.

Shit, life is hard enough for you all. When I think about it I want to go and put muzzles on most of our politicians just thinking about it…and I’m over here.

Got any extras muzzles?

Anyway, I looked up some of my favorite stuff from the old dead guys: you know…the ones who have been around…done that?

Hopefully you will find something in these you can use…on the days when you just might need a little pick me up…or quote them to your favorite corporal.

So, here’s some nobody favorite quotes for this Memorial Day, with my own comments following....
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George Washington: “There is nothing so likely to produce peace as to be well prepared to meet an enemy.”--- (Shoes and clothes from Congress came just in time for spring.)

“Liberty, when it begins to take root, is a plant of rapid growth.”--- (Whenever possible, start the little kids out on Mario Brothers)

John Adams: “The die was now cast; I had passed the Rubicon. Swim or sink, live or die, survive or perish with my country was my unalterable determination.” --- (Although, he probably told the King of England, when he met him as the first Ambassador to England, that it was actually his cousin Sam who said this.)

John Quincy Adams: “I consider an unjust war as the greatest of all human atrocities, but I esteem a just one as the highest of all human virtues.”--- (Say the word “love” in place of war, and you got the same outcome.)

Andrew Jackson: “One man with courage makes a majority.” (Or nobody says; One woman with a big mouth makes a mess. (Rosie))

Abraham Lincoln: “Whatever you are, be a good one.”--- (Good old Abe, what a good idea, that’s why I don’t cook.)

“If I am killed, I can die but once; but to live in constant dread of it, is to die over and over again.”--- (This guy had common sense not found today in our leaders, we should clone him.)

Ulysses S. Grant: “The art of war is simple enough. Find out where your enemy is. Get at him as soon as you can. Strike him as hard as you can, and keep moving.”---(Patton thought he was the reincarnation of some Roman General…he was wrong, it was Grant.)

James Garfield: “A brave man is a man who dares to look the devil in the face and tell him he is a devil.” --- (I’m waiting to corner Bill Clinton, but I need a drink first.)

Benjamin Harrison: “Great lives do not go out, they go on.” (John Wayne)

Harry S. Truman: “I’m going to fight hard. I’m going to give them hell.” (This was the understatement of the year.)

Dwight David Eisenhower: “What counts is not the size of the dog in the fight but the size of the fight in the dog.”--- (Spoken like a true married man.)

Fritz Greene Halleck: “But to the hero when his sword has won the battle for the free, they voice sounds like a prophet’s word, and in its hollow tones are heard the thanks of millions yet to be.” (I have NO idea who this guy is; but I’ll drink to that too.)

D.W. Thompson; “Ten good soldiers wisely led, will beat a hundred without a head.” (A saying that should be put in the Chicago Cubs clubhouse.)

Arab Proverb: “Throw your heart out in front of you and run ahead and catch it.” --- (If you can catch anyone actually doing this little trick, be sure to post it on My Space.”)

Frederick Langbridge: “Two men looked out of the prison bars; the one saw mud; the other saw stars.” (One guy was short, and had a lawyer.)

Martin Luther: “Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree.”--- (You can’t be serious…apple seeds? Is this a metaphor?)

Tupper: "Confidence is conqueror of men; victorious both over them and in them; the iron will of one stout heart shall make a thousand quail; a feeble dwarf, dauntlessly resolved will turn the tide of battle, and rally to a noble strife the giants that had fled."

Tony Blair: “This is not a battle between the United States and terrorism, but between the free and democratic world and terrorism. We therefore here in Britain stand shoulder to shoulder with our American friends in this hour of tragedy and we, like them, will not rest until this evil is driven from our world.”

And lastly…one more. I think of what Cinque said to John Quincy Adams in the movie Amistad…

He said “I call my ancestors for at this moment I am the whole reason they have existed at all.”

Remember that…guys (and girls) …YOU are the reason that our ancestors, our fathers, brothers, mothers, and hero’s…YOU are the reason they have lived and existed…you are the reason they fought for America…YOU ARE AMERICA.

Keep the faith...and God bless you all.

Go have a big steak on US…eat a lot! You are at the top of the list of what taxes should be going for…not Bill Clinton’s telephone bills.

If it was up to me, you’d all retire millionaires. But then again, it’s not up to me.

Remember that when you drink your next beer. This nobody loves you.