Hush

I may have a slight addiction to the show Bones. My favorite part about the show is the dynamic between Seeley Booth and Dr. Temperance Brennan. These two have such different personalities and perspectives, yet get along so well. I think it's their differences that bring them together and allow them to learn from one another and grow as individuals.  Anyhoo… I was watching a re-run yesterday and at the end Bones made a toast about Booth for his birthday and I loved it.

"Anthropology teaches us that the alpha male is the man wearing the crown, displaying the most colorful plumage and the shiniest baubles. He stands out from the others. But I now think that anthropology may have it wrong. In working with Booth, I've come to realize that the quiet man, the invisible man, the man who's always there for friends and family... that's a real alpha male. And I promise my eyes will never be caught by those shiny baubles again."

This was moving for me because earlier that day Dave sent me the following poem.

The Poor Knight 

From the novel The Idiot by Dostoevsky:

Lived a knight once, poor and simple

Pale of face with glance austere,

Spare of speech, but with a spirit

Proud, intolerant of fear.

He had had a wondrous vision:

Ne'er could feeble human art

Gauge its deep, mysterious meaning,

It was graven on his heart.

And since then his soul had quivered

With an all-consuming fire,

Never more he looked on women, 

Speech with them did not desire.

But he dropped his scarf thenceforward,

Wore a chaplet in its place,

And no more in sight of any

Raised the visor from his face.

Filled with purest love and fervour,

Faith which his sweet dream did yield,

In his blood he trace the letters

Her initials on his shield.

When the Paladins proclaiming

Ladies' names of true love's sign,

Hurled themselves into the battle

On the plains of Palestine,

Lumen coeli, Sancta Rosa!

Shouted he with flaming glance,

And the fury of his menace

Checked the Musslim's advance.

Then returning to his castle

In far distant country side,

Silent, sad, bereft of reason,

In his solitude he died

I feel that Bones' toast and the poem have the same theme- humble men. To me the strongest men are the ones that don't have to flaunt their accomplishments, good deeds and wins. These are the men that you can trust and follow. The unsung heroes. I'm lucky enough to have some of these men in my life.

Just because you don't, doesn't mean I can't brag about you.