THE NARRATIVE ARC
The 300 of Sparta and Other Stories My Dad Used To Tell
Duty, honor, and other life lessons from a lifelong Boy Scout
‘Our arrows are so plentiful,’ the Persian Messanger said, ‘that they’ll block out the sun.’
King Leonidas quickly replied, ‘Good, so we’ll fight in the shade.’
My dad’s narration of the Battle of Thermopylae always had a touch of pride, as if he were there, standing shoulder to shoulder with King Leonidas and his 300 Spartans, fighting off a horde of 100,000 Persian invaders.
I knew all about the Spartans before I was ten. I knew they slept in the cold hard dirt, for they had no mattresses; I knew their food had no flavor and all they did was train for battle. They didn’t complain of tiredness, hunger, thirst, or pain. When they fought in the narrow pass of Thermopylae, they were so disciplined they didn’t give an inch. Whenever a soldier fell, another took his place without hesitance or grief.
“Good, so we’ll fight in the shade,” was also Dad’s response to any adversity. It was a motto he offered my brother and me whenever we felt the challenge ahead was too big to overcome.
Storytelling was my dad’s love language. It was his way of imparting wisdom and valuable life…
