They don't make 'em like they used to

Back in the Old Country we used to read a newspaper every day. I still read the same paper, but online and I read the obituary page in Google Reader as there are just the most interesting people who have had the most astonishing lives, leaving us. I have found that the only way to learn life's lessons from such great people is to read their obituaries.

Here are a few snippets from the last few days:

Lieutenant-Colonel Bill Becke:

• After withdrawing to reload his tommy-gun, he returned to account for at least four of the enemy
• Becke demonstrated archetypal British pluck when, monocled and with moustache bristling, he defied a mob trying to sack the British embassy in Jakarta
• In 1974 Becke and his wife drove most of the way from Scotland to Australia

Major Philip James:

• As well as instilling such old-fashioned virtues as politeness and the correct way to eat peas with a fork, James was a useful member of the staff cricket team
• On one occasion he bombarded another regiment's officers' mess with flaming polo balls
• "The Major", as he was always known, was never unduly impressed by celebrities

Wing Commander Ken Mackenzie:

• He then slammed his wing tip on the Bf 109's tail which snapped off sending it diving into the sea.
• On his way to a POW camp, Mackenzie gave his guard the slip on a crowded Paris railway station but was soon recaptured
• Over a long period of time he feigned madness and developed a severe stammer for the purpose

They don't make 'em like they used to

kthanxbai!