Sam Turner
Shropshire stand off
Shortly before the Battle of Agincourt, on a brisk October morning in the year 1415, King Henry V roused his English troops with a fine motivational speech. And it apparently worked, because hey, they won, even though they were dramatically outnumbered by the French. Some time later, Shakespeare would immortalize the whole story in verse, and that’s what comes to mind for me today.
Here’s the end of that speech:
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.
Now, I’m not suggesting that our Sam Turner might have shouted that speech as he stood before this mob of sheep. He is, above all else, a serious man. But just look at those brave faces. Look at these fine, fuzzy warriors, ready to shuffle onward and claim their rightful place in the rolling hills. How could one resist seizing the moment? Does the thought not make your heart beat just a little faster?
Blog photograph copyrighted to the photographer and used with permission by utata.org. All photographs used on utata.org are stored on flickr.com and are obtained via the flickr API. Text is copyrighted to the author, Jenn Wilson and is used with permission by utata.org. Please see Show and Share Your Work
