Editorial March 3, 1997 Issue

Courage to stand when healing comes slowly

Mary Metzner Trammell

When Granddaddy would tell the drummer boy story, even the tough guys in our family turned into butter. Maybe it was the way he told the story—and the fact that Granddaddy himself was kind of a tough guy. So when his lips would tremble and his voice would break halfway through, you knew he was really touched. And when he got to the end—and the tears were streaming down his face ... well, you were probably crying a little, too.

It was a simple story, one that may never make it into the history books. It went like this.

Napoleon Bonaparte was leading his exhausted, starving troops into a crucial battle during the French Revolution. In those days, a drummer boy would walk alongside the general and beat out orders to the troops. A certain kind of drumbeat meant "Charge." Another meant "Retreat." And so on.

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