I mentioned here once before that where I grew up in New Hampshire, every fourth grade class put(s?) on a musical play about the life of General John Stark (whose “Live free or die” declaration is probably the most famous thing about New Hampshire).
Part of Stark’s celebrated history is that he was captured by Native Americans and forced to run the gauntlet – forced to run between two rows of warriors who bludgeoned him from one end to the other. The Wikipedia version has him seizing a stick and fighting back, which is a little more ninja than I recall, but I’m fine with that version too by rule of legends’ license.
Surviving the gauntlet earned Stark the respect of his captors (and New Hampshirites for generations).
And so it was that Timmy Couture in the starring role of John Stark stumbled and rolled between two flailing rows of Mrs. Levit’s 10-year-olds in construction paper headdresses. And the chorus chirped to the tune of “Yankee Doodle”:
As a young man John Stark was brave When captured by Indians. He ran the gauntlet sure and straight. The Indians thought that he was great! TRMS staffer Andy Dallos is up in Manchester sending photos of election day scenes. One in particular stood out for me: In this case it’s Ron Paul who had to run the gauntlet in New Hampshire.Recommended
