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Coleman, who had fought with the 187th Regimental Combat Team under Almond, believed his lack of interest in the way the Chinese fought, his failure to learn from earlier battles against them, was but one more reflection of what he called Almond’s “incipient racism.” In the weeks that followed the battles in the north that had gone so badly, none of his commanders was ever summoned to discuss what had been learned so far about the Chinese. “Post-Korea we did a lot of studies on their tactics,” Coleman said years later, “but at the time we did very little—there was no attempt to put together as quickly as we could in those first few weeks what we had learned about them, their tactics, their strengths, weaknesses, logistical limitations, how they tried to panic you and then set up an ambush south of you. There was a lot to learn and we didn’t learn it. It was as if we didn’t need to—they were not seen as a foe worthy of study. And it cost us badly at Hongchon and Hoengsong and Wonju [all part of the greater battle for Wonju]. I’ve always put it off to a kind of innate, unconscious American racism. Almond failed to learn quickly enough from the first defeat and I think it was because his prejudices blocked out his intelligence.” As late as mid-February, Almond seemed to think all he had to do was hit the Chinese a little harder, Coleman believed. “His racism tainted every decision he made in battle,” Coleman said.
The Coldest Winter
David Halberstam
This interaction made me realize that working in The Street wasn’t like working in the theater. The Street is different: nobody’s buying a ticket, nobody’s choosing to be there. On the street, artists succeed or fail by virtue of their raw ability to create a show in unexpected circumstances, to thoroughly entertain an audience that did not expect to be one, and to make random people care for a few minutes. The passersby are trusting you to give them something valuable in exchange for their time and attention, and (possibly) their dollars. Something skilled, unexpected, delightful, impressive, something moving. With few exceptions, they’re not giving you a dollar to confront and disturb them. That dad and his little girl didn’t want theater. They didn’t want to be provoked. They wanted to be entertained. But they also wanted something more. They wanted connection. It dawned on me, standing there in my white face paint and tutu, that I was effectively working in a service position: A strange combination of court jester, cocktail hostess, and minister. A strange, coin-operated jukebox of basic, kind, human encounters.
The Art of Asking
Amanda Palmer and Brené Brown
It started for Bradley, finally, with Russell’s unfortunate injury in January 1969, which ended a ferocious rivalry even in practices that awed teammates. Bradley would admit later he never could relax as a pro until after the Russell injury. “We are having the 40th anniversary celebration of our championship at this hotel here in New York and I see Cazzie and I realize there’s still something between us,” Bradley related. “When I ran for president, Cazzie participated in an event in Chicago. The next day we’re told to get to the Garden early because the current Knicks would like to meet the championship Knicks. One guy shows up, David Lee. We’re in the room and Cazzie says, ‘Can I talk to you, Bill?’ He says, ‘I’m a Christian preacher now in South Carolina and I cannot preach my best sermon if there’s anything that’s heavy on my heart. So if I ever did anything in those years that hurt or offended you, would you forgive me?’ And I say, ‘Cazzie, of course. If I ever said anything that offended you, would you forgive me?’ And he said, ‘Of course.’ And we hugged and 40 years of tension disappeared. One of the more beautiful moments in my life.”
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