#GTvsDUKE - Not all heroes wear capes

[CuseJacket]

Felt this deserved its own thread.

Do we need a poll to settle the debate?

 

[kg01]

I feel compelled to share a brief quotation, so oft remembered in the honored circle of the GBC, from the original rough riding man himself who also loved the value of a true GBC.

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles (while wearing flamingo pink), or where the doer of deeds could have done them better (via well articulated points and gloriously yellow overlaid drawings on live footage). The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena (in pink or gold), whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms (but tells the boys to calm the Heck down), the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement (while missing the action on the field behind him to keep the boys in white and gold on the side), and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat (nor the joy of saying, “Get-Bak”).


He could have equally been talking about another noble sir who may have kept tigers and also may have caused the wolf pack some problems.

 

[MidtownJacket]

Attribution was in there, just not by actual name...

"from the original rough riding man himself..."

Good call - I was wondering if people would catch the reference.

 

[GTpdm]

Good call - I was wondering if people would catch the reference.

I thought it was obvious. But then again, I recently read the Edmund Morris TR trilogy.

 

[MidtownJacket]

I thought it was obvious. But then again, I recently read the Edmund Morris TR trilogy.

Yep, if you know the quote and attribution then it’s a clear line - if not I figured it may be a jump for people to connect the two.

Ironic a British American writer would pen what many (and I agree) to be the best biography of FDR. My favorite of the three volumes was Theodore Rex. Not the least because the TRex juxtaposition is too enjoyable to deny. Though all three were enjoyable in their own right and certainly as a trilogy!

Did you have a favorite volume?

 

[GTpdm]

Yep, if you know the quote and attribution then it’s a clear line - if not I figured it may be a jump for people to connect the two.

Ironic a British American writer would pen what many (and I agree) to be the best biography of FDR. My favorite of the three volumes was Theodore Rex. Not the least because the TRex juxtaposition is too enjoyable to deny. Though all three were enjoyable in their own right and certainly as a trilogy!

Did you have a favorite volume?

The first book actually clicked the most for me. It was interesting to see how he transitioned from being a sickly youth into a hard-nosed taskmaster in the Navy Department and the “Rough Rider”.

The second volume was pretty good too…TR was an odd mix of old-money conservatism and early 20th century progressivism. It’s really hard to pigeon-hole him according to modern political dividing-lines, which makes him one of the most interesting and thought-provoking presidents in American history.

And to remain on-topic…he would have been an epic get-back coach.