As the man who put Brit up for his Victoria Blogging Cross, I was gladdened to see he ultimately overcame the shyness and post-traumatic stress syndrome that kept him from speaking of, nay boasting about, his distinguished war record. Valorous and indefatigable are the two words that jump to mind when I reflect on Brit's lengthy service on many fronts during those dark and uncertain days. Wounded seriously on several occasions to the point of almost invaliding himself out, Brit always bounced back quickly, recovered and resolute, for he always came to realize his first love was to his comrades-in-battle. During lulls in the fighting, he would help keep morale up by entertaining the troops in the trenches with rhyming ditties and pleasing doggerel, and, after YouTube was issued to the forces near the end, Amy Winehouse videos. Perhaps the most glorious moment of his exceptionally glorious career--his personal Thermopylae--was when, alone and uncovered, he steadfastly refused to cower before a compulsively prolific and fanatical New Hampshire blogger he believed was quoting prominent Darwinists out of context to bolster his theocratic mumbo-jumbo. Refusing to either retreat or respond with vitriol, Brit simply posted repeated complaints that he was "egregiously, outrageously, dishonestly, recklessly, intolerably and unacceptably mis-quoting the author" and so therefore would not be replied to. So flummoxed was the host by these unheard of tactics that he soon gave up on Darwin and diverted his attention to trains and the Anglosphere.
Of course, all this was before the age of trackbacks, media blogs, Google alerts, frivolous YouTube links, etc., and you young bloggers may find it hard to imagine cyber-battles that were determined solely by wit, logic and rhetoric. It was a man's world where individual heroism still counted and could turn the tide of battle. Only the bravest and fittest survived, and Brit was the bravest and fittest of them all. I fear we shall not see the likes of him again. Although, maybe on Twitter.
As the man who put Brit up for his Victoria Blogging Cross, I was gladdened to see he ultimately overcame the shyness and post-traumatic stress syndrome that kept him from speaking of, nay boasting about, his distinguished war record. Valorous and indefatigable are the two words that jump to mind when I reflect on Brit's lengthy service on many fronts during those dark and uncertain days. Wounded seriously on several occasions to the point of almost invaliding himself out, Brit always bounced back quickly, recovered and resolute, for he always came to realize his first love was to his comrades-in-battle. During lulls in the fighting, he would help keep morale up by entertaining the troops in the trenches with rhyming ditties and pleasing doggerel, and, after YouTube was issued to the forces near the end, Amy Winehouse videos. Perhaps the most glorious moment of his exceptionally glorious career--his personal Thermopylae--was when, alone and uncovered, he steadfastly refused to cower before a compulsively prolific and fanatical New Hampshire blogger he believed was quoting prominent Darwinists out of context to bolster his theocratic mumbo-jumbo. Refusing to either retreat or respond with vitriol, Brit simply posted repeated complaints that he was "egregiously, outrageously, dishonestly, recklessly, intolerably and unacceptably mis-quoting the author" and so therefore would not be replied to. So flummoxed was the host by these unheard of tactics that he soon gave up on Darwin and diverted his attention to trains and the Anglosphere.
ReplyDeleteOf course, all this was before the age of trackbacks, media blogs, Google alerts, frivolous YouTube links, etc., and you young bloggers may find it hard to imagine cyber-battles that were determined solely by wit, logic and rhetoric. It was a man's world where individual heroism still counted and could turn the tide of battle. Only the bravest and fittest survived, and Brit was the bravest and fittest of them all. I fear we shall not see the likes of him again. Although, maybe on Twitter.
Ah, thanks Peter. It does a man good to read his own obituary.
ReplyDeleteCyber-obituary. Not the same thing at all.
ReplyDelete