Lessons In Manliness from The Old Man And The Sea" by Bryan Schatz and, "The Shark, Or Me" by Me-Lessons for all of us-AND Retailers

I wrote this poem just yesterday; Afterwards, looking for a picture to illustrate, I found the article:

Lessons in Manliness From the Old Man and the Sea by Bryan Schatz

This article is inspirational and great advice, especially now; and, let me be clear- I believe this advice is equally valid for men AND women. I encourage you to read the article (especially if you are an old man or are likely to be), but I will summarize the key points here. And THEN, I close with my original poem about the same subject. Read on:

Lessons in Manliness Summary:

1. "A Man is Not Made For Defeat"

2. A Man Does Not Depend on Luck

3. A Man Bears Pain and Hardship Without Complaint

4. A Man Does Not Boast

5. A Man Finds Inspiration From Others

6. A Man Goes Down Swinging- No Matter His Age

It is this last aspect in my own life that inspired me to write the below poem. I rarely write poetry and feel my style is a big Ogden Nash-y, but this one came out in about 5 minutes. So here it is:

The Shark, Or Me?

A Poem By Michael Serwetz

It doesn’t happen if you sit there and cry;

It happens if you stand up and try.

Then you say, “why me?”

But you should be saying, “why we?”

Because everyone is in the same boat

Like the old man & the sea

who finally said, 

“It’s the shark or me.”

What will you do in the face of the shark?

Will you sit there and cry?

Or, will you stand up and try?

3/18/2020

Here is Me (imagine the fish):

Postscript: I have been consistent with this philosophy, about myself and those in the Retail Arena. In my 2018 Article, "J.C. Penney and Sears-The Hollow Men- An American Tragedy", I closed with the following lines from the great Dylan Thomas:

"Do not go gentle into that good night.

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Let's do that.