The Old Man and the Sea

I wonder what a bone spur is, he thought.

the flag of permanent defeat.

I am not good for many more turns. Yes you are, he told himself. You’re good for ever.

“And pain does not matter to a man.

“But man is not made for defeat,” he said. “A man can be destroyed but not defeated.

He is a great fish and I must convince him, he thought. I must never let him learn his strength nor what he could do if he made his run. If I were him I would put in everything now and go until something broke.

Everything about him was old except his eyes and they were the same color as the sea and were cheerful and undefeated.

“I told the boy I was a strange old man,” he said. “Now is when I must prove it.” The thousand times that he had proved it meant nothing. Now he was proving it again. Each time was a new time and he never thought about the past when he was doing it.

It is better to be lucky. But I would rather be exact. Then when luck comes you are ready.