Robert Service and the Battle of the Bulge

Robert Service

Last week Medium writer and playwright Steve Newman (no relation) published a brief account of the life of Robert Service. A contemporary of Jack London, though from different sides of the Atlantic, both men had experiences in the Yukon during the gold rush heyday, thereby providing fodder for stories as well as insights about human nature.

It brought to mind a book of poems by Robert Service that I'd read several decades ago, and birthed the notion that it might be interesting to share a poem by the man.

The Poetry Foundation has a wonderful website for fans of poetry, by the way. Nearly every poet of significance is catalogued here, with a brief bio and selections from their works. Robert Burns, Robert Browning, Henry Timrod, Thoreau, Keats, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Langston Hughes, etc. etc. etc.

If you're familiar with Robert Service even just a little you will know he has a comic side that is witty. To be honest, however, I'd pretty much forgotten him other than I associated his name with good feelings. That is, the memories (specifics) were washed into the sea but the feeling of having enjoyed reading him was left behind like seashells on a beach.

So, I found his page at The Poetry Foundation site and read the titles of his poems, looking for somewhere to begin. One of the first my eye spied was The Battle of the Bulge. My grandfather's younger brother Jesse was wounded in that battle during WWII. A piece of shrapnel sliced his face. He was only 20 and a long way from home.

Because of this memory (actually a fond one because when I knew him he was a cheerful, good-hearted older man) I decided to read first the Robert Service poem The Battle of the Bulge, which wasn't about WWII at all.

The Battle of the Bulge

This year an ocean trip I took, and as I am a Scot
And like to get my money’s worth I never missed a meal.
In spite of Neptune’s nastiness I ate an awful lot,
Yet felt as fit as if we sailed upon an even keel.
But now that I am home again I’m stricken with disgust;
How many pounds of fat I’ve gained I’d rather not divulge:
Well, anyway, I mean to take this tummy down or bust,
So here I’m suet-strafing in the
                                        Battle of the Bulge.

No more will sausage, bacon, eggs provide my breakfast fare;
On lobster I will never lunch, with mounds of mayonnaise.
At tea I’ll Spartanly eschew the chocolate éclair;
Roast duckling and pêche melba shall not consummate my days.
No more nocturnal ice-box raids, midnight spaghetti feeds;
On slabs of pâté de foie gras I vow I won’t indulge:
Let bran and cottage cheese suffice my gastronomic needs,
And lettuce be my ally in the
                                        Battle of the Bulge.

To hell with you, ignoble paunch, abhorrent in my sight!
I gaze at your rotundity, and savage is my frown.
I’ll rub you and I’ll scrub you and I’ll drub you day and night,
But by the gods of symmetry I swear I’ll get you down.
Your smooth and smug convexity, by heck! I will subdue,
And when you tucker in again with joy will I refulge;
No longer of my toes will you obstruct my downward view ...
With might and main I’ll fight to gain the
                                        Battle of the Bulge.

* * * *

More poems by Robert Service, courtesy The Poetry Foundation.

Pullman Porter
It's Later Than You Think
The Cremation of Sam McGee

How Much More Can Human Nature Endure?

We often talk about stress and the pressures of modern life. 

When I saw this blurb a few years ago, 

It helped to put things in perspective. 

The world is too big for us, too much is going on, too many crimes, too much violence and excitement. Try as you will, you get behind in the race in spite of yourself. It's a constant strain to keep pace... and still, you lose ground. 

Science empties its discoveries on you so fast that you stagger beneath them in hopeless bewilderment. 

The political world is news seen rapidly, you're out of breath trying to keep pace with who's in and who's out. Everything is high pressure. Human nature can't endure much more.

* * * *
Can you believe it? The above was first published 

in the Atlantic Journal

June 16, 1863

Maybe we don't have it so bad after all.

"Keep on the sunny side..."--Mother Maybelle Carter

Monday Motivation: Ten Art Quotes That Will Surprise You

A Red Rothko. 

"I'm not telling you it's going to be easy. I'm telling you it's going to be worth it."
--Art Williams

* * * *

Living isn't a simple thing... no one said it's supposed to be.
--Art Alexakis

* * * *

The two best interview subjects are children under 10 and people over 70 for the same reason: they say the first thing that comes to their mind. The children don't know what they're saying and the old folks don't care.
--Art Linkletter

* * * *

Paul has more, I think, of a feel for the stage. Whereas I have it more for the notes themselves. I love record making and mixing, arranging, producing. That I love. I love to make beautiful things, but I don't like to perform.
 --Art Garfunkel

* * * *

Life is available to anyone no matter what age. All you have to do is grab it.
--Art Carney

* * * *

Jazz washes away the dust of every day life.
--Art Blakey

* * * *

Remember, before you can be great, you've got to be good. Before you can be good, you've got to be bad. But before you can even be bad, you've got to try.
--Art Williams

* * * *

If you don’t see the wonder in the most ordinary phenomenon, you’re not going to resonate very much.
--Art Shaw

* * * *

There is no such thing as a wrong note.
--Art Tatum

* * * *

All you have to do is be able to feel.
--Art Blakey

* * * *

ON THIS DAY in 1903, American painter Mark Rothko was born. Whatever your feelings about abstract art in general and color field painting in particular, the 2014 play RED provides insights into the mind of the artist and why he was influential.

* * * *

Meantime, Arts go on all around you.

Monday Motivaton: It's Motivational!

If you've followed this blog for any length of time you'll know that I like Twitter. I find it to be a tool that is easy to use and informative.

Last week I heard someone say that because of President Trump's affinity for Twitter that they, and purportedly many others, would not use Twitter any more. This seems strange to me. If you do not follow the @POTUS then his tweets will not show up on your twitter feed. It would be like complaining about the person across the street dancing around naked in their house, but not really being able to see anything unless you stand on the sofa and use binoculars.

Are we going to stop eating Lay's Potato Chips because it's his fave snack food?

For what it's worth, I like Twitter, and found it useful long before @realDonaldTrump danced into the political limelight.

* * * *

If you're the kind of person who likes motivational books (or used to read them until they all started sounding alike or made you feel guilty because living the lessons is never quite as easy as reading them,) well, the insights are still valuable and often true to a certain extent. They won't be moth-eaten any time soon. And if you happen to have a Twitter account, every Monday you can find a whole lot of inspirational uplift by following hashtag #MondayMotivation.

Here's a smattering of statements, sayings, sage advice and insights that I pulled from today's Twitter feed. I find many of them thought-provoking.

--Do not regret growing older. It's a privilege denied to many.

--In a perfect world, you can take everyone with you to your next level. Guess what--the world ain't perfect! Move on!

--Being positive in a negative situation is not naive. It's leadership.

--If you take responsibility for yourself, you will develop a hunger to accomplish your dreams :)

--Every struggle makes us stronger, difficulty makes us grow, & painful experience gives us endurance. Trust the process.

--When things aren't working out as you wish, be patient. Stop trying to move ahead of God. His timing is perfect.

--Surround yourself with winners. The people you spend your time with have a major influence on your results in life.

--Good habits are HARD to form but EASY to live with👍🏼  Bad habits are EASY to form but HARD to live with👎🏼

--Do not regret growing older. It's a privilege denied to many. (EdNote: I liked this one so much I had to repeat it.)

--Good advice is always certain to be ignored, but that's no reason not to give it!

--The Past is your lesson. The Present is your gift. The Future is your motivation.

"Nobody can teach me who I am. Who I am is something I need to find out myself."
~ Chinua Achebe

* * * *

This last quote here just happened to resonate with a message that was shared with me yesterday that had appeared on Medium (an online publishing platform) by Z.K. Royer titled Choosing to be you, only you. The subhead for this article reads, "For many of us, there is one difficult, complicated, monumental enterprise that we undertake in this life: the act of being ourselves."

Here's an interesting bit of Trivia: The founder of Medium, Evan Williams, was previously a co-founder of Blogger (which I am using here), and co-founder of Twitter. Born in 1972, his creative explorations in the realm of social media have proven exceedingly influential. And to think, he's only just begun.

Much more could be said, but I think it's time to start my day. I hope that in some way you've been motivated as well. Make your week a great one.