Churchill

He was the man who invented the term "Iron Curtain" to describe the Soviet Union he so despised; he warned sleeping England, and the world, of the Nazi threat, only to be ignored until it was almost too late. He was Winston Churchill and he was born on this day in 1874. A man of contradictions, he was a soft, pink, pudgy fellow who enjoyed cigars and alcohol but distinguished himself under fire as both a soldier and war correspondent; he had a lisp but overcame that to become an orator who comforted Britain during the Blitz and inspired the British people to fight to save not just England but free people everywhere. During England's darkest hour, Churchill poked, prodded and cajoled President Roosevelt to lend aid and become the arsenal of democracy. Winston Churchill was not just a great leader but a truly interesting human being, the likes of which we may never see again.



From No Ordinary Time by Doris Kearns Goodwin:

In the morning, Churchill confronted the President's butler Alonzo Fields. "Now, Fields," Churchill began, his bare feet sticking out below his long underwear, his crumpled bedclothes scattered on the bed, the floor strewn with British and American newspapers, "we had a lovely dinner last night but I have a few orders for you. We want to leave here as friends, right? So I need you to listen. One, I don't like talking outside my quarters; two, I hate whistling in the corridors; and three, I must have a tumbler of sherry in my room before breakfast, a couple of glasses of scotch and soda before lunch and French champagne and 90 year old brandy before I go to sleep at night."

This was a man who knew how to live, I just don't know how he managed to stay awake.