Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2004/02/06
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Marc It is comforting to know that at least there is one LUGer a few days older than I. Jerry Marc James Small wrote: > At 10:36 PM 2/6/04 EST, P2CON@aol.com wrote: > >Ted is nearing 75 and still working so has no time for such foolhardy > antics. > >I am nearing 73 and retired so have plenty of time and energy to play, and > >lots of toys to play with. > > This disturbs me more than a bit, as I have it on grand authority that Ted > is actually 177 years old. After all, he DID teach his grandmother how to > suck eggs and instructed Daguerre in the basics of the photographic trade. > As a middle-aged craftsman, he suggested to Carl Zeiss that he hire Ernst > Abbe to design lenses. Later in his life, he ran into Oskar Barnack > meandering about the hills of Germany and, with the compassion so expected > of a person of Ted's character, suggested to the asthmatic fellow that he > might do better to develop a camera using movie film -- in fact, thought > this has been lost to history, Ted actually suggested to Oskar that this > would result in a "small camera, big image", a logo later stolen without > credit to Ted, by Minox but, at least, Minox is now safely in the Leica > camp, so what can we say? Ted went on to be the official photographer on > the voyage of the TITANIC, on the LUSITANIA, and on the HINDENBERG. In the > midst of this, he taught photography to Lawrence of Arabia and accompanied > him on camel raids deep into the desert to catch the Dastardly Huns up to > their customary Evil Deeds. (Much of this has been excized from history due > to the unfortunate occasion when Ted tossed a glass of Lagavulin in the > face of Lowell Thomas, but, then, that is a tale for another day and, in > any event, occurences at the Casual Officers' Club in Damascus in 1918 are > probably protected by the Statute of Limitations. > > Ted's later exploits include snoodling with Julia Child while she was on > her various OSS missions during the Second World War, escorting Madame > Chiang Kai-Shek to the Wimbledon Meet of 1947, and taking Margaret Truman > to NASCAR races (her passion) throughout the US Southlands in the 1950's. > His connections with Kim Philby have remained obscure but, what the hey, a > snippy but uncertain reputation for exotic deeds can substitute for a > 600-page tome by Gospodin Solzhenitzyn. His exploits duirng the Second > World War did cause him to be nominated for, and to decline, many awards > and decorations, as the accomplishments assigned to him DO appear > improbable -- after all, how could the same person have suggested to Lord > Gort that Dunkirk was THE beach and advised the Admiralty just where > BISMARCK was to be found and argued Churchill into ordering the epic raid > on Penemunde which so slowed the German rocket programme? And the tale > that it was Ted who talked Eisenhower into ordering that D-Day was to be on > 6 JUN 1944 despite the weather forecast -- well, it beggars the > imagination, but the memoirs of those involved keep referring to "our solid > Ted" and "Ted, the all-knowing", so maybe these tales are true. > > I could go on, but Ted is undoubtedly dying from shame at the reading of > his REAL story. Those of you who only view him as some sort of decrepit > flack for Lagavulin miss the import of his contributions to Crown and > Empire over the course of his lengthy, and well-pickled, career. > > Allow us, Ted, to greet you in honor and respect as being the last > surviving member of those ravaging Canadian militia hordes who drove back > the US Army at the battle of Drewery's Lane and thus preserved Canada for > the Crown. My folks were on the other side, but I am glad, after the > passage of these years, to grant you the honor to which you so obviously > are owed. > > <grins, brother!> > > Marc > > msmall@infionline.net FAX: +540/343-7315 > Cha robh bąs fir gun ghrąs fir! > > -- > To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html - -- To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html