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| Photo by Jonas Bengsston courtesy of Flickr Creative Commons |
Yesterday I started reading Keith Richards's autobiography, Life. It begins with Keith's recollections of growing up in London in the last years of World War II and the decade that followed it. From what Keith describes, it sounds as if he grew up among heaps of rubble with bomb craters serving as playground territory for himself and the other neighborhood kids. His description of a post-WWII London childhood reminded me of a story my mother told me about her first trip to England, in 1969.
My dad used to have to travel quite a bit for work back in the 60s and 70s, and part of his sales territory was western Europe. Once my mother accompanied him on one of his trips to London (they squeezed in a visit to Ireland on this trip too). In the first day of touring London, my mother spotted an old sign on the side of an old building: TAKE COURAGE, the sign said. My mother immediately related the message to World War II and the days of the Blitz, when German bombs were being dropped right and left throughout London. TAKE COURAGE. A message to everyday citizens withstanding attacks by Hitler's army on their own homes, schools, hospitals, and local shops. My mother was so moved.
Until later in the day when she was riding a city bus and saw the words again, this time on a smaller, more modern sign with pictures on it. Pictures of a man downing a pint of ale. An ad for booze.
As it turned out COURAGE in England is just another word for beer--Courage brand beer to be exact. And the Courage Brewery has been, uh, giving strength to the British people since 1787, long before Hitler had designs on world domination. But Hitler never knew the Brits had a secret weapon that his Nazis didn't: COURAGE. Who knew it came in a bottle? Those ingenious Brits. No wonder they ruled the world.
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