Determined To Succeed

Yesterday, it hit me like a ton of bricks. It knocked me down for the majority of the day. It zapped my strength and held me at it’s mercy. What had me? I had an allergy attack. When my allergies hit me they hit me hard, and there was nothing I could do to calm my sneezing and “ugh-ing.” I even tried getting out of the house for a bit to get some fresh air but that didn’t work either. I am usually helpless in its grasp so I just sat on the couch and watched TV. Lots of TV.

However, I did discover a phenomenal HBO show from a few years back I had never seen called “Band of Brothers.” This incredible show, produced by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg, was about the men who made up Easy Company and their stories during World War II. It was amazingly shot, incredibly acted and deeply affecting (try not to cry when the troops happen upon a Nazi concentration camp and CAN’T feed the prisoners because it might do more harm than good).

Why am I sharing this with you guys today? Because of something that struck me as I watched the last few minutes of the last episode of this amazing show. It was named after a line from William Shakespeare’s “Henry V.”

Shakespeare’s “Henry V” describes Henry’s victory over the French at the Battle of Agincourt (1415). The French, aware of Henry’s troops’ weakened condition because of their distance from England and the attacks of dysentery that had plagued the dwindling band, moved between King Henry and Calais, the port he needed to reach in order to return to England. The troops followed Henry’s band along the rivers, preventing their crossing and daring them to a battle they thought Henry could not win. Henry was seriously outnumbered, however, because the English fought using archers and Welsh longbows in support of its troops, they defeated the French and won the day.

Just prior to the battle Henry delivered a speech to help rally his men to try to defeat their low morale and dread due to the overwhelming force of the French. That speech was called the “St. Crispin’s Day Speech” and in it is something that is at the core of any battle, even in weight loss.

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…”
… in their flowing cups freshly rememb’red.
This story shall the good man teach his son;
…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; And gentlemen in England now-a-bed
Shall think themselves accurs’d they were not here,
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin’s day.

Amazing words! Simply amazing. While it is debatable Henry’s actual speech was far more self-serving (based on a priest’s recollection of the scene), this speech written by Shakespeare two-hundred years after the battle is the original “Independence Day” presidential speech. It shows that there is a brotherhood formed in battle, one that is not and cannot be defined by a family’s blood line. It is one that is not taken away with time. It lasts forever because of the shared experiences of the people who go through that shared experience and come out on the other end of it, for they have seen each other at their worst, and they have seen each other at their best.

Weight loss is that battle, however instead of shedding blood we are shedding pounds and we stand together in this fight. Shakespeare’s words hold true not just for his play but for real life. We are in a fight and while we may be few, we will win because we are in this together. Our weight loss battles make our bond, and what we will remember is how we shed those pounds to stand in victory so that we can live out the rest of our days healthier and pass down old photos of us and say “we did it.”

I know losing weight is by no means as important, bloody, horrific or traumatic as any battle, small or large, experienced by any soldier during World War II, but I so understand the bonds that were formed by the troops in all those companies. The scars we show may be more on the inside but we do have them. You might have fears and pain but you are not alone. We stand together, our own band of brothers (and sisters), and I am so proud to be with you on this weight loss journey.

And thank God for television. I know it’s sometimes (O.K. very frequently) full of, how shall I put it – crap, but every now and then it gets it right and makes us reflect on the human condition and why we are able to just lie on our couches lazily nursing a bad allergy attack. It is because men and women sacrificed their lives and livelyhoods for that and continue to do so today and I could not think of a better way to honor those who served and continue to serve this country than watching a show like “Band of Brothers” and honoring them at the end of Fourth of July Weekend.