What's he that wishes so?
My cousin Westmoreland? No, my fair cousin;
If we are mark'd to die, we are enow
To do our country loss; and if to live,
The fewer men, the greater share of honour.
God's will! I pray thee, wish not one man more.
By Jove, I am not covetous for gold,
Nor care I who doth feed upon my cost;
It yearns me not if men my garments wear;
Such outward things dwell not in my desires.
But if it be a sin to covet honour,
I am the most offending soul alive.
No, faith, my coz, wish not a man from England.
God's peace! I would not lose so great an honour
As one man more methinks would share from me
For the best hope I have. O, do not wish one more!
Rather proclaim it, Westmoreland, through my host,
That he which hath no stomach to this fight,
Let him depart; his passport shall be made,
And crowns for convoy put into his purse;
We would not die in that man's company
That fears his fellowship to die with us.
This day is call'd the feast of Crispian.
He that outlives this day, and comes safe home,
Will stand a tip-toe when this day is nam'd,
And rouse him at the name of Crispian.
He that shall live this day, and see old age,
Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours,
And say 'To-morrow is Saint Crispian.'
Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars,
And say 'These wounds I had on Crispian's day.'
Old men forget; yet all shall be forgot,
But he'll remember, with advantages,
What feats he did that day. Then shall our names,
Familiar in his mouth as household words-
Harry the King, Bedford and Exeter,
Warwick and Talbot, Salisbury and Gloucester-
Be in their flowing cups freshly rememb'red.
This story shall the good man teach his son;
And Crispin Crispian 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 brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition;
And gentlemen in England now-a-bed
Shall think themselves accurs'd they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day.
There’s background info at Shakespeare's Saint Crispen's Day Speech. Although we won at Agincourt, we were well depleted and needed strong leaders to carry the day. Very many good Frenchmen fell that day to the arrows of the English and Welsh Longbow men. It was law in England that every boy use a longbow and it took about ten years to build the muscles up and the stamina to fire arrow after arrow in a battle. They could release around 5 a minute. It was the rapid fire that beat the French.
When the French caught a Longbow man they’d cut off his index and middle finger. It’s why when a battle was won they’d stick two fingers up, and hence the victory sign.
Millions of Good Frenchmen and very many women and children died in the First and Second World Wars. It may do you well to remember that and not sh!te on their memory.
My great uncles and aunts were Krasnya Army in the Great Patriotic War where it was victory or extermination.
My dad was 6 years in WW2, from beginning to end. Then one day he was given a civy suit and sent home. Happens, he just get on with it. Another Great Battle going on in Europe at the moment, this time over the euro. And the whole EU/Euro thing having been orchestrated to prevent another World War. Let’s hope they get it sorted in an amicable way.
They could release around 5 a minute. It was the rapid fire that beat the French.
Unless an archer could loose twelve shafts a minute, he didn't get paid. The next time any army faced a rate (and weight) of fire like this was (ironically given the location) WW1.
There’s background info at Shakespeare's Saint Crispen's Day Speech. Although we won at Agincourt, we were well depleted and needed strong leaders to carry the day. Very many good Frenchmen fell that day to the arrows of the English and Welsh Longbow men. It was law in England that every boy use a longbow and it took about ten years to build the muscles up and the stamina to fire arrow after arrow in a battle. They could release around 5 a minute. It was the rapid fire that beat the French.
When the French caught a Longbow man they’d cut off his index and middle finger. It’s why when a battle was won they’d stick two fingers up, and hence the victory sign.
Millions of Good Frenchmen and very many women and children died in the First and Second World Wars. It may do you well to remember that and not sh!te on their memory.
I did not know that, nor the origin of the victory sign. Thank you Bob.
I did post something in another thread about the French. It was a quote from a popular television show and those words were uttered by an Irish man in a comedy show. I in no way think that.
Many in the U.S forget that during the Revolutionary War, the French were our ONLY ally. They also forget that our greatest symbol of freedom, The Statue of Liberty was given to us by the people of France. Helping them during WWII was the LEAST we could do as a nation.
My dad was 6 years in WW2, from beginning to end. Then one day he was given a civy suit and sent home. Happens, he just get on with it. Another Great Battle going on in Europe at the moment, this time over the euro. And the whole EU/Euro thing having been orchestrated to prevent another World War. Let’s hope they get it sorted in an amicable way.
I am curious about your thoughts on the Euro. I know this is thread jacking for Deejo, yet somehow I doubt he minds. He likes discussions and men sitting around a table discussing politics is very manly. I just "stuffed" myself so hopefully I qualify.
My sister lives in Sweden and they did not join with the EU in discarding the Krona, as they thought they would be better off. According to her, it has actually hurt tourism there because in Norway and Denmark the currency is the same as the rest of Europe. A standard currency for tourists is easier to keep track of then having the cash in and cash out. Thoughts?
I totally agree with you Bob. Amazing, right?! Sweden is ranked very high on the happiness index and my extended family seems very happy. To each there own I guess. I loved visiting there and staying there over long summers and winters but I would not want to live there and it had nothing to do with climate.
As for Greece, I watched an amazing documentary by the BBC about that country and the taxpayers basically can say "no". There is no enforcement of taxes and many don't pay, yet they want all the comforts of the "system". I am not talking poor people, I am talking the middle class who decide "screw it" and don't pay taxes. They retire at 50 and get all the creature comforts of their former working lives, yet few of them have paid in. No wonder their country is bankrupt!
In the U.S., I can think of no other state that matches Greece than California. My home state. Similar climate and similar politics.
Years ago there was a proposition called "Prop 13". To break it down, the house you bought way back when would be valued the same in todays market for tax purposes. Of course the homeowners agreed to this! Any home that was purchased prior to 1978 would be taxed based on the purchase price of the house and not the actual value. The only way your tax basis would change is if you added on to your house or sold it to somebody else. Inheriting such a home doesn't change the tax basis at all.
So a house that say was purchased in 1972 and literally on the beach would only be taxed on the $18k they paid for it, rather than the actual worth of the land and home.
The argument for not repealing that law is that it would "force" people out of their homes. No it wouldn't. Not a chance. They have several million dollars in equity in their property and even if they didn't have the cash on hand, they could easily get a home equity loan to pay their taxes but they trotted out widows and made the public feel bad.
I know in excess of 30 people who bought houses prior to 1978 and they are all valued now at over $4MM. Not one of these families pays more than $300 a YEAR in property taxes. No wonder CA is also bankrupt.
Re: Man Up: Old School 
