The Good Stuff

"Their Finest Hour" and roasting your own coffee

Their Finest Hour

This month’s poem is a speech, and not a speech from Shakespeare (though you’re likely to hear one or more of those in the months ahead). It is arguably the most famous speech delivered in the 20^th century, due to the ringing words with which it ends.

Winston Churchill delivered this speech at what may have been the darkest moment of World War II for the British people. Britain’s ally France had just capitulated in the face of a devastating German Blitzkreig; Pearl Harbor was still 18 months in the future, and the United States was nowhere close to entering the war; the Soviet Union was still allied with Germany. Britain stood alone in the face of a totalitarian alliance that had carved up Europe and had their knives out for Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.

The speech was long – almost an hour. Though we remember only a few phrases, this was not a cheerleading exercise. Churchill needed to answer the question, “Why not capitulate and make the best terms we can, rather than be destroyed by overwhelming odds?” Most of the speech makes the case that Britain can indeed resist successfully; Churchill cites extensive detail on Britain’s warmaking power and the advantages derived from possessing the world’s largest navy.

Churchill read his speeches, and he read them like poetry. The photo here is a facsimile of the notes he read from; the pages were attached by rings that went through the holes in the corners. Note how his typescript is in stanza form. Churchill’s speeches make great reading, but he was a master of delivery, and even the notes he read from were typed so he could render the speech exactly as he practiced it.

The ending contains an immortal call to greatness. And listen to what specifically he calls his fellow citizens to do: “Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duty,” knowing that the future of civilization depends on the outcome. Sometimes simply doing our job is the most heroic thing we can do.

- Jack Jr.

Roasting Coffee

As my 40th birthday approached last year, I decided to mark the occasion by learning something new. Roasting my own coffee seemed like something that would be both challenging and enjoyable. So, I ordered a starter pack from Sweet Maria’s. The roaster arrived, and proceeded to sit in its box for a few months because I was nervous about doing something new.

Once I finally started, though, I realized that the process is actually fairly simple. This year, I made the questionable decision to give some of the coffee away as gifts at Christmas. No reviews have come in yet, so it’s possible that a Jack III roast may in fact make an appearance as one of Dad’s future “The Bad Stuff” entries.

I haven’t made the leap to only drink the coffee I roast, but it’s definitely been an enjoyable addition. If you’ve ever been curious about roasting coffee yourself, Sweet Maria’s makes it incredibly easy. Their starter kit includes very helpful tips and recommendations for using the air roaster, and you can also buy coffee straight from them, rather than having to figure out a local provider. If you’re a coffee person and are looking for something new to try in 2025, why not this?

- Jack III