Surrender Was Not An Option

Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom for most of World War II, made a lot of good speeches. In one of the darkest hours of the war for Britain, he said:

We shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and the oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.

As I soldiered through the hardships of the recent Thai floods, I kept Winnie's words in mind. Blessedly, some of my pain was eased yesterday as I witnessed the return of Coke Zero to the Kingdom. Pure joy. When the tears cleared and my vision returned, I bought up as many cans as I could carry.

We have come through this together. We are stronger and share a bond for having done so.

--Jack Dawson, 2011