Bruno Hope - Under a Roman Moon

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Bruno Hope – Under A Roman Moon

I knew Bruno Hope well. He died last year at the age of 93, and the following story is a tale of great strength.

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Life is a journey of risks and sometimes great danger. But, for some people perils and hazards and risks are just part of life’s course, and, Bruno was just such a person!

It was 1945. Bruno was thankfully walking home across Italy. Life was fantastic. He was happy and young. He had survived his war and his home in Vienna, although still far away, was getting nearer and nearer as every day passed. Things couldn’t be better. Soon his favourite beer would be flowing and the schnitzels he loved would be sizzling once again in the pan. And, even the air of decay where he was just passing through seemed amazingly sweet.

But then the partisans struck. There was no warning! The firing was dreadful and final and the bullets were flying. There was no where to run and no where to hide and Bruno went down. His world fell apart and his future was moving away. He was seriously injured, and then, with one of his shoulders completely destroyed, and his heart holding on for all it was worth he passed out. And there, beneath a Roman moon he lay - waiting to die – in a deepening pool of young crimson blood!

But, his death was not meant to be. A gypsy had told him he was going to be old, and he had believed it. And, in his unconscious state he not only dreamed of those who were waiting, but, also the far-away tastes and the smells he was missing. And, he knew that the beer and the schnitzels would wait.

And, the doctors fought hard and did a wonderful job. But, his left shoulder and arm had been too badly hit to repair. There was nothing the medics could do. But Bruno knew better. And, so it was, that after no thinking at all, he went to work on himself.

He began by lifting the lightest of weights, and, within eighteen months of hard work and gradually increasing the loads, his arm returned once again to full strength. He had fought and succeeded!

And that’s how Bruno’s life was. He always got up from his downs and never gave in to the meanings of others. His journey was not always easy, but, thanks to a long ago moon - he knew it was his own inner self that always knew best. His strength was in him, and not in the thinking of others!

And, that's a thought for us all!