Redtree Times

Dear little not-so-innocents, beware of
Old Grandmother Spider: rump her endearments.
She’s not quite as nice as She looks, nor you quite
        as tough as you think.

― W.H. Auden, Circe

Don’t have much time this morning so this will be short. I saw a story yesterday about a woman in Kviv who, from her balcony, knocked down a small Russian drone with a jar of pickles.

Made me laugh but it also made me cry. I have a soft spot for toughness, for people who endure, who just keep at it and won’t back down even when the odds are dead set against them. I’ve known and loved such people in my life.

A great example of this quality is from the movie Cool Hand Luke, where new inmate Luke (Paul Newman) has boxing match with the prison tough guy, Dragline, played by George Kennedy. Dragline repeatedly pounds Luke to the ground and each time Luke somehow gets back up and comes back at Dragline. The other inmates begin to tell the barely able to stand Luke to give up and Dragline, at one point while Luke is struggling to get up says, “Stay down, you’re beat!”

Finally, an exasperated and humiliated Dragline can’t take it and leaves the ring, making Luke the winner.

Maybe that’s a foolish example. I don’t care.

There’s tough and then there’s tough when you’re overmatched, whether it’s Luke in that prison or that woman Kviv with her jar of pickles.

Or that woman at the top with her yellow cat. You mess with her at your own peril. I bet she has plenty of pickles ready to go.

For this Sunday morning music, here’s Tougher Than the Rest, a Bruce Springsteen song performed by Emmylou Harris. Always liked this version.