A funny thing happened on the way to the computer.  See, originally, this column was going to be a tribute to Eric Liddell. He was the storied Scottish athlete who, having earned a place at the 1924 Paris Olympics, refused to compete in his event because it was scheduled on Sunday. As a devout Christian, he would not elevate his desire for personal glory over his commitment to his principles.  This remarkable example of manliness at its best was portrayed in the excellent film “Chariots of Fire.”

Anyway, just as I sat down at the computer to begin my usual clumsy stumbling around the keyboard, I glanced at the muted TV and saw that TCMwas featuring “The Devil and Daniel Webster.” Great movie and great counterpoint for the Liddell story.

It’s the story of Jabez Stone, a man who starts out in life with wholesome morals, great expectations and the esteem and respect of his neighbors and family.  But when he falls on hard times, he doesn’t have the strength and patience to fight out of it fair and square. He yields to temptation and, in exchange for material wealth, he sells his soul to the devil.

In time, his passion for wealth and position drive him to grander ambitions and ever more conspicuous extravagances.  Along the way, he sacrifices the respect of his neighbors. He ignores the pleas and warnings of his devoted mother. He devalues the love and loyalty of his wife. Ultimately, his moral slide places the soul of his only son in harm’s way.

When Jabez’ time is up and “Ole Scratch” appears to collect the debt, Daniel Webster, the legendary lawyer/orator steps forward to demand a jury trial for the now repentant Stone. Webster will accept any jury drawn from “the quick or the dead” so long as they’re all Americans. The devil accepts the challenge and summons a panel made up of deceased pirates, cut-throats and traitors presided over by a judge notorious for his cruelty and corruption.  Jabez appears doomed for sure.

Webster is warned that if he speaks on behalf of his undeniably guilty client, and fails to persuade, his soul is forfeited right along with Jabez Stone’s. After a moment of “soul searching” Webster casts his own self interest aside and rises to speak. He appeals to the yearning for redemption which must live, no matter how deeply buried, in the heart of every person, no matter how far they have strayed from the upright path. He calls on the love of freedom, which enables even the most corrupt to choose, any given moment, to do the right thing even if the full weight of the past tends toward the triumph of moral bankruptcy. What a powerful argument it is!

Well, just as Scrooge was redeemed, so was Jabez Stone in the end. He receives his second chance and is restored to his friends, his family and, more importantly, to himself. Webster fetches “Scratch” a stout kick in the pants and sends him off to search for souls somewhere other than New Hampshire. The closing camera shot suggests that each viewer is a likely candidate for the devil’s future attention.

There is a common moral that binds together the real life story of Liddell and the fictional Stone. A man sacrifices his principles at the risk of his manliness.

A manly man holds fast to virtuous priorities, loyalty to family and friends, adherence to transcendental values and staunch resistance to all pressures that would lead him to compromise his core principles.

No one would say that the manly man is perfect. We probably wouldn’t like him if he was. But he can be counted on to stand fast for what he thinks is right.

Liddell was serving as a missionary to China when he died as a prisoner of the Japanese on Feb. 21, 1945, 64 years ago this past Sunday. He was 43 years old. In 1991, the Chinese allowed Edinburgh University to erect a memorial on the site of the camp where “The Flying Scotsman” died. This is what’s engraved there: “They shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary.”

Oh by the way, two days after he died, the U.S. Marines raised the American flag over Mt. Suribachi on Iwo Jima. May “Scratch” keep his claws off your tail feathers as you rise on eagles’ wings.

I’m Hink and I’ll see ya.

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