Today, on what I hope is a momentous and joyous occasion, I wanted to quote from the Bard. And amazingly enough, I found a seldom-quoted draft of one of his better known speeches. I guess it wasn’t his fault that November 7th has a saint with such a dorky name . . .
This day is call’d the feast of Willibrord.
They that outlive this day, and come safe home,
Will stand a tip-toe when this day is nam’d,
And rouse them at the name of Willibrord.
They that shall live this day, and see old age,
Will yearly on the vigil feast their neighbours,
And say ‘To-morrow is Saint Willibrord.’
Then will they strip their sleeve and show their scars,
And say ‘These wounds I had on Willibrord’s day.’
Old men forget; yet all shall be forgot,
But they’ll remember, with advantages,
What feats they did that day. Then shall our logins,
Familiar in their mouths as household words-
Refinish69 and Second Nature,
BooMan, Isis, Psifighter37,
Man Eegee and Dada and the rest-
Be in their flowing cups freshly rememb’red.
This story shall the good man teach his son;
And Willibrord — Willibrord shall ne’er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remembered-
We few, we happy few, we band of bloggers;
For those to-day that shed their blood with me
Shall be my kin; and be they ne’er so vile,
This day shall gentle their condition;
And slackers in this country now-a-bed
Shall think themselves accurs’d they were not here,
And hold their ballots cheap whilst any speaks
That on Saint Willibrord’s day reclaimed their country.
They that outlive this day, and come safe home,
Will stand a tip-toe when this day is nam’d,
And rouse them at the name of Willibrord.
They that shall live this day, and see old age,
Will yearly on the vigil feast their neighbours,
And say ‘To-morrow is Saint Willibrord.’
Then will they strip their sleeve and show their scars,
And say ‘These wounds I had on Willibrord’s day.’
Old men forget; yet all shall be forgot,
But they’ll remember, with advantages,
What feats they did that day. Then shall our logins,
Familiar in their mouths as household words-
Refinish69 and Second Nature,
BooMan, Isis, Psifighter37,
Man Eegee and Dada and the rest-
Be in their flowing cups freshly rememb’red.
This story shall the good man teach his son;
And Willibrord — Willibrord shall ne’er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remembered-
We few, we happy few, we band of bloggers;
For those to-day that shed their blood with me
Shall be my kin; and be they ne’er so vile,
This day shall gentle their condition;
And slackers in this country now-a-bed
Shall think themselves accurs’d they were not here,
And hold their ballots cheap whilst any speaks
That on Saint Willibrord’s day reclaimed their country.
My apologies for leaving your name out; I’m afraid I couldn’t include everyone, much as I would have liked to.
Here’s to we happy few, we band of bloggers!
Bonne Chance mes amis! I’m off to guard my voting precinct. Sadly, there is no wifi available there. It’s raining and 55 degrees in south central Indiana. Could be worse.
and you and every other dem got my vote.
maybe I can avoid the Gitmo list and provide a “safe house” for the rest of you…provided the spouse and I can ever get the damn place clean… 😉
According to my “This Day in History” widget, today is:
With a victory by the Democrats, and especially a victory for the stem cell measure in Missouri, we may see a rebirth of science and reason in this country, on Camus’ and Curie’s birthdays.
And just as the Bolsheviks overthrew their government, so too will we overthrow ours — but in a Constitutional way, as much as Bush would like to disregard that document.
And with a new government, we can begin to address the wrongs done against all people, not just the Native Americans but the poor, the disabled, the elderly, the children…
Good luck, and good GOTVing Indiana, PsiFi, and all of you working at beating the bushes today (pun intended). You’re forgiven for omissions, Omir – loved the poem!
If you have extra time, go over to Big Orange, and listen to Clinton’s speech on lowkell’s diary. (Sorry, I couldn’t get a link to work this am, nor a YouTube embed, and I’m off to vote and to teach.) Clinton’s speech doth inspire. . .
Thanks for the tip Kidspeak!
how did we go from the brilliance and sparkling wit of Clinton to the swaggering simpleton who inhabits the white house today? :/
How much we miss this policy wonk! Clinton was at the top of his form in this setting, turning each barb back on the offending source.
His appearance with Harold Ford, Jr, on Nov 1 was eloquent. The rally may not have been videoed as it took place in a big Memphis church, but it was a pleasure to see. Clinton’s grasp of history has always been a major component of his speeches and statements.
Unfortunately, this was not the question asked of James Baker on The Daily Show ‘Seat of Heat’ ..
And compliments from a man who loves the words of the bard enough to write a novel built around Richard III, both the play and the man underneath.
I see Winter of Discontent is under editorial review. Keep us informed on what happens. I’d like to read it.
I will indeed. It’s almost been bought twice. One editor loved it, but couldn’t convince marketing. And one editor seriously considered it, but decided it was a little too far out of their demographic.
You’re welcome, and thank you. I have high hopes. WebMage got great critical response (very lucky for me) and the numbers are good–which is all a way of saying that selling my back catalogue and future ideas is a whole heck of a lot easier than it was six months ago.
Moving selection, Omir, thanks for the inspiration.
I hope we don’t have to shed blood… but I think that’s what it will take, my friend.
The blood of those who wanted peace.
however today and tomorrow more blood will be spilled… and sadly most of it is the blood of the children in so many lands… the ones who have no clue what a bard or a blog is.
The ones who counted on us all to protect them from such insanity and violence.
I’m afraid you’re right, m’dear . . . but hopefully today we can start reversing that trend. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step and all that. We have to remember that even if we take every single contest we think we’re going to take in our wildest dreams, it’s only the beginning.
But it’s still gonna feel good.
a footstep…some attitude and forget the umbrella as cops see them as a weapon if held by peace activists that is…
St. Crispin’s Day. Well said.
There was a Danny DeVito movie called “Renaissance Man” about a bunch of dead-enders in the Army that he manages to motivate by teaching them Shakespeare. Mostly it was just kind of a throwaway summer flick, but there was a beautiful scene at the end of the show where the drill sergeant is railing on one of the dead-enders about how worthless all this Shakespeare stuff is to an infantryman (in slightly more colorful language, if I remember right) and this poor slob who probably never wanted to be in the Army in the first place, presents arms in a pouring rainstorm and gives the DI the St. Crispin’s Day speech.
IMDB says it’s going to be on next Tuesday on the Hallmark channel. I might just TiVo it so I can put that one scene up on YouTube (if I canfigure out how).
Saw the film. Loved it. I’ve given the speech to my wrestlers, when I coached. Bits and pieces, anyway. That guy could write. Even in archaic English, he could flat write.
Very nice. That clip of Clinton`s was also excellent & I will be looking for that movie. A whole lot came from you posting about this special day & the naming of names which will be always remembered as will yours. Thank You
Good choice for Election Day, Omir. Henry V’s rallying cry of his undersized and underfed motley army against the haughty French knights at Agincourt. Although the polls showed the heavily armored French to be solid favorites to defend their home turf, the upstart English, Welsh, Irish, and Scots, took the day. Masssive French casualtiues against a handful of British deaths. The new technology of the English longbow carried the day. Nice little guy vs. bug guy story, at least as Shakespeare tells it.
The weather at Agincourt was also cold and rainy, as it here in much of the Midwest.
Lastly, the feast of Willibord isn’t any sillier than St. Crispin’s Day. The whole saint thing sounds so quaint to us Protestant types.
Thanks for the cultural fun.
In fact some of the counties north of Seattle are experiencing “record flooding,” and the rain is only supposed to get worse. I haven’t checked my weather radar thingy lately but last I did it looked like it wasn’t letting up anytime soon.
Good thing most of the counties in this state vote by mail. King (where Seattle is located) doesn’t, but about 75-80% of King County residents vote permanent absentee anyway. I’m just as glad to not have to go out in the rain. I don’t think it’s going to hurt Darcy Burner’s chances any; one of the local blogs (Horse’s Ass, which has been covering Burner’s race pretty steadily) is saying she is ahead in early vote counts by 8%, and we know that a Democrat that has an early lead is usually a Democrat who wins.
With all the high-tech industry up there, I would have expected “DVD flooding” at least. Maybe even “Blu-Ray flooding.”
Arf arf arf.
By the way and apropos to nothing and on the other hand …re: your signature quote. I always suspected that Bertrand Russell said that with certainty.
Heh heh. Yeah, he was that kind of guy. I wouldn’t be surprised.
George II (adapted from Henry V
Act 4. Scene V
SCENE V. Another part of the nation.
Enter Rove, Mehlman,and Cheney,
Rove:
O diable!
Mehlman:
O seigneur! le jour est perdu, tout est perdu!
Cheney:
Mort de ma vie! all is confounded, all!
Reproach and everlasting shame
Sits mocking in our plumes. O merchante fortune!
Do not run away.
A short alarum
Rove:
Why, all our ranks are broke.
Mehlman:
Disorder, that hath spoil’d us, friend us now!
Let us on heaps go offer up our lives.
Rove:
We are enow yet living in the field
To smother up the English in our throngs,
If any order might be thought upon.
Cheney:
The devil take order now! I’ll to the throng:
Let life be short; else shame will be too long.
Exeunt
Heh heh! Well done m’lord.
’twas a mere floating gesture on a summer breeze.Re: Post Election Tribute to Omir & Shakespear
The fingers slipped, but you get my point. I should have gone to bed last night.