"The test of character is not 'hanging in' when you expect light at the end of the tunnel, but performance of duty, and persistence of example when you know no light is coming."
Tuesday, November 11, 2008 
That’s one of my all-time favorite quotes. (Along with this one from Teddy Roosevelt). It’s from the late James Stockdale, retired rear admiral, Stanford philosophy professor and decorated Vietnam vet. Not just any Vietnam vet, Stockdale was the most unbreakable spirit in the Hoa Lo Prison, which is better known as the Hanoi Hilton.
When the North Vietnamese planned to use him in propaganda parades and films, he cut his hair off and disfigured his head with a razor. When they took the razor, and covered his head with a hat, he bashed his face in with a stool. And when he thought they might break him, he attempted suicide, rather than be coerced. He was the first to arrive and the last to leave, spending four of his seven years there in solitary confinement.
And sadly, most of us only remember him as the befuddled old man who agreed to be Ross Perot’s running mate in 1992, stumbling through the vice presidential debate with only a week’s notice. Or, as comedian Dennis Miller put it, “He's remembered for committing the unpardonable sin of being bad on television.”
Just something to think about and appreciate on Veterans Day, or Armistice Day, or Remembrance Day, depending on where you are on google maps…
Reader Comments (5)
Love your cover by the way!
Danette V.
Thanks for dropping by my blog, as you can see I have been out of circulation in cyberspace lately. I have been busy doing the final edits on my novel. I will be glad when I am finally done. Hope all is well. You must be getting excited about the pending release of "Hotel". Can't wait to read it,
cheers,
Paul