By Warner Todd Huston ——Bio and Archives--March 1, 2008
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Mark Boyle, 28, who began his trip with only t-shirt, sandals and a bandage four weeks ago, hoped that strangers along the way would provide him with food and places to stay.But disaster struck only four weeks later because for all their claims of being peace lovers, the stinkin' French stuck a pin in Boyle's peaceiness balloon.
After reaching Calais, Mr Boyle made the decision to quit his trip because as he could not speak French people thought he was an asylum seeker or a freeloader and would not give him food or board. The 28-year-old kept an online diary of his adventure, where in one of his final entries he wrote: "…they had also seen us as just a bunch of freeloading backpackers, which is the complete opposite of what the pilgrimage is about".Argh! Wars will now rage unabated where peace was just about to dawn. People will call others names, clowns will be looked down upon, Brussels sprouts will still receive not an ounce of respect from small children. Some ill-mannered sap may even try to kick a puppy now that Boyle's wondrous adventure has met its too early demise. Oh, the humanity.
Mr Boyle... apologised to his supporters and said that he was unable to find words to express his disappointment at having to quit.Yes, the world is all in darkness. Despair is still our uninvited companion. The hand of black death still grips us tightly. Imagine these darn French people? Looking upon this scruffy, unkempt, penniless, freeloader looking for a free meal and imagining he is a scruffy, unkempt, penniless, freeloader looking for a free meal! Don't they know what is at steak here (uh, I mean stake)? Why it's none other than peace in our times, man! You know how Brits like to have "peace in our times," doncha? Heck, it’s always just around the corner. Oh, those French talk a good game about all that peace stuff, but here -- right when peace was almost within their grasp -- they let it all slip away and just because they refused to part with a meal or two. Not a speck of cheese, a thimble of wine... not a single croissant could these misers spare. So, now humanity will have to wait for another scruffy, unkempt, penniless, freeloader looking for a free meal to bring enlightenment to us all. MAN! And we were THAT close, too!
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Warner Todd Huston’s thoughtful commentary, sometimes irreverent often historically based, is featured on many websites such as Breitbart.com, among many, many others. He has also written for several history magazines, has appeared on numerous TV and radio shows.
He is also the owner and operator of Publius’ Forum.