Why Remembering Christmas 1944 Can Change Your Life

No matter what weakness or problem you’re battling, a dark option always exists to crumble under life’s hardships. When you feel miserable, you’re tempted to quit under the weight of the difficulty. That’s why remembering Christmas 1944 can change your life. It reminds you that even when life hits you hard, even if you’re fighting in a frozen forest, even if you have Parkinson’s, even if you’re crapping in a bag by the side of the freeway, you keep on going. You refuse to surrender. You say, NUTS!

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NUTS! Why Remembering Christmas 1944 Can Change Your Life

by Marcus Brotherton on December 18, 2012 · 69 comments

in A Man's Life

Last Monday I crapped in a plastic bag.

There is no nice way to say that No genteel or sanitized way to describe the experience

I’d just started taking a new medicine to combat a spastic colon, which I’ve battled on and off for ten years The medicine promised to do remarkable things

Instead, it made my condition worse

En route to an appointment, I was gripped with a sudden, urgent, and uncontrollable need to use the can There were no exits from the freeway on that stretch of road, no public restrooms

or gas stations for miles in any direction I wasn’t going to make it So I did the only thing I could think of I pulled onto the shoulder, set my hazard lights, and did what needed to be done

I tell that story for a reason

In this day and age of Facebook personalities, it’s easy to start believing another person’s life is

as problem-free as described in an online bio In my case, I’m a New York Times bestselling

author I’ve got a master’s degree I’ve got a great wife and family and have travelled all over the world If you know me only by my bio, then I’m an enviable man

But here’s the fuller version of the truth There’s one tiny area of life—in my case, a medical

weakness—that I can’t seem to conquer no matter how hard I try.

I bet that you, in your most honest moments, could say something similar about yourself

You’re a capable and confident man Still, there’s one area of your life where you’re hurting or weak, where you lack control, or can’t seem to overcome Even Superman had his kryptonite Achilles had his heel

Maybe it’s a broken relationship Or an incident of grief or illness or financial trouble Maybe you’re grappling with anger or meaninglessness or hopelessness or you’re suffering from an addiction or you’re depressed or tired or you can’t get a job, or you work too hard and get paid far less than you’re worth Maybe you’re simply stressed out and need a break

Here’s hope When I pulled off the road last Monday, I was genuinely miserable I was sweating and cursing, and feeling embarrassed, and worried that a motorcycle cop was going to come along and ask me what I was doing I was hating my life

But in that moment, one word flashed through my mind It’s a word weighted with

determination, and it reminded me not to give up, no matter what life threw at me

NUTS!

Here’s the story behind the word.

In late November 1944, Allied soldiers were charged with holding the line at a small Belgian town called Bastogne Word flew in that Hitler was pushing hard and fast, making a last-ditch effort

to swing the tide of the war back in his favor Bastogne proved strategic due to seven

crossroads that snaked through the town, roads vital in the transport of troops and

ammunition

If Hitler controlled Bastogne, he would win the war

The Allied soldiers were rushed up to Bastogne in trucks They hiked out into the forest in the mud and freezing rain, made a perimeter around the town, dug foxholes, and waited Food, winter clothing, medical supplies, and ammunition were scarce Some men didn’t even have boots They wrapped their feet in burlap bags to stay warm

The enemy made a larger ring around the Allied troops, dug in, and also waited Snow began to fall The temperature plummeted It became Belgium’s coldest winter in 30 years The Allied soldiers guarding Bastogne were surrounded

Then the shelling began Blood ran Men on both sides took bullets, lost limbs, and died

Weeks wore on with little progress Christmas neared The two armies were positioned so closely to each other that at night Allied troops could hear their enemies across the line—they

were huddled in their foxholes singing Silent Night in German.

On Christmas Eve, 1944, General Anthony McAuliffe, commander of the 101st Airborne

Division, issued a flier to his men It was headlined “Merry Christmas,” and the general wrote,

“What’s merry about all this, you ask? We’re fighting It’s cold We aren’t home.” He went on to praise Allied troops for stopping flat everything the enemy was throwing at them Then he described a story that happened two days earlier

On December 22, the commander of the German army had sent word to McAuliffe The enemy commander had painted a bleak picture of the Allied position, and insisted there was only one option to save the Allied troops from total annihilation

Surrender

When McAuliffe read the demands, he fumed, then sent back to the German commander a reply of only one word

NUTS!

When the messenger asked for further explanation, he was told, “It’s the equivalent of saying,

‘Go to hell.’”

So, how does remembering Christmas 1944 change your life?

Yesterday evening I went to the mall with my family to do some Christmas shopping We went into The Gap, and I noticed on the wall a recently-released poster of Michael J Fox and his wife Tracy Pollan They were doing a promotional piece to advertise the store

Michael and Tracy were poised in a warm embrace Tracy’s face was turned away from the camera, but Michael was staring straight into the lens There were lines underneath his eyes Some lines from age Some from laughter Some from experience Some from fighting

And I stared at that poster

I stared at it a long time

Michael J Fox, like Muhammad Ali, has been battling Parkinson’s disease for years At present, it’s still an unwinnable disease, and its symptoms have only increased in Michael over time But here was Michael on a poster in The Gap

Still working

Still loving his wife.

Still fighting hard

Still saying NUTS!

No matter what weakness or problem you’re battling, a dark option always exists to crumble under life’s hardships When you feel miserable, you’re tempted to quit under the weight of the difficulty

That’s why remembering Christmas 1944 can change your life It reminds you that even when life hits you hard, even if you’re fighting in a frozen forest, even if you have Parkinson’s, even if you’re crapping in a bag by the side of the freeway, you keep on going

You refuse to surrender

You say, NUTS!

When faced with a difficulty, what ways have you found to persevere through?

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Marcus Brotherton is a regular contributor to Art of Manliness Read his blog, Men Who Lead Well, at: www.marcusbrotherton.com

Photos Courtesy of Joe Muccia