Captain Tom Moore - Captain Toms Life Lessons

Tomorrow Will be a Good Day

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First published by Michael Joseph in 2021

Copyright Captain Sir Tom Moore, 2021
Illustrations copyright Piers Sanford, 2021

The moral right of the author has been asserted

, Ernest Hemingway, A Farewell To Arms, Penguin Random House (page 226).

Cover illustration Piers Sanford

ISBN: 978-0-241-50402-4

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I think my greatest ambition in life is to pass on to others what I know.

Frank Sinatra (191598)

Captain Tom took one hundred years to write his first book. His next followed rather more quickly. Tom finished writing Life Lessons in December 2020, having devoted the same unflagging commitment to it as he had to his fundraising. Delivered the week before Christmas, the completion of Life Lessons capped a truly extraordinary year. Through the distress and tragedy of a global pandemic, this modest old soldier with a kind word for everyone became an unlikely but worthy talisman for the whole country. With his passing, the publication of Life Lessons has taken on a poignancy that Tom had never intended. And its clear from the pages that follow that he had no fear of the end. While we can mourn his loss, we shouldnt feel sorry for Tom himself. He lived a good life and he made a difference. If Toms final year was a gift that helped see us through difficult days, Life Lessons has the valedictory feel of a final farewell a distillation of the wit, warmth and wisdom that made him so special. Perhaps it will help us all be a little more Captain Tom. For that, we can be truly grateful.

Every morning, as I open my century-old eyes to another day of life, I lie in my bed and allow my body to catch up with my mind. Once Im fully awake, I swivel my head on my pillow to check the time, hoping that it is past 6 a.m. but knowing that its likely to be nearer 4 a.m., much to my dismay. Ive never been a good sleeper and a decent nights rest has become something of a luxury.

No matter what the hour, I remain there for a while and ask myself, How am I going to feel today? I wiggle my fingers and toes and wait for each muscle to respond. Some are stiff, others not so much. My right leg has been a nuisance since I fell at the age of ninety-eight, so I pray it will be a little less painful today.

Lying very still, I can feel my heart pounding inside its bony chassis. Its a miracle to me that this old fuel pump has been ticking over since 1920. Thanks to its unfaltering perseverance, yet another day has dawned that Ive never seen before. It is certainly one that I will never see again. This fact, alone, is enough to confirm to me that today will be a good day.

Delighted by this thought, I swing my legs out of bed and pull myself to an upright position. Everything is done at a snails pace and I sit for a time to let my system warm up. Im not as steady on my feet as I used to be, so I have to wait a bit before shifting into first gear. Bending forward with care, I place my slippers on my size 11 feet and then sit back up to allow the delicate mechanisms to settle. A human body is much like an engine and you have to treat it with a certain amount of respect, especially when its such a vintage model.

When Im ready, I stand gingerly and using my trusty walking frame make my way into the bathroom. I am painfully aware that if I were to fall again, I could be reduced to a state of helplessness, as I was once before. At the very least Id have to call out and wait for help. I dont plan to fall but nor do I want to be treated like a child.

Taking things slowly, I wash, dress and shave before going downstairs to make myself a cup of tea milky, weak and sweet. My entire morning ritual takes me roughly an hour and has rarely varied in all my years. Theres no hurry. Im not on a time trial, after all, and patience is something Ive acquired a great deal of lately. Once Ive sifted through my morning mail, I settle to the newspaper that I read cover to cover, paying special attention to the obituaries, the contents of which alone can rescue a day. Other peoples lives are usually so much more interesting than my own. Making a mental note of their ages, I must admit, however, to allowing myself a small smile if Ive managed to outlive them. At my age, anything is worth celebrating.

Despite my physical limitations, I still greet every morning grateful to be alive. My grandchildren assure me that, even with people living longer these days, its still pretty rare to be as old as I am which they calculate as 100. Theyve started measuring my life in half-years, as anything longer might be too optimistic. It might be quarterly soon. This makes me laugh because it reminds me of when they used to declare that they were 5 or 6 in order to appear a tiny bit older. Theres small merit in my doing that now but I enjoy the idea of coming full circle.

No matter how many years or half-years I have spent on this Earth, the one thing I have learned is that its important to start each day positively. By rising each morning and completing my few simple tasks with a small sense of pride, I introduce some structure and motivation to my day, whatever it may bring. My little routine might not suit everybody, but I could do a lot worse, and nobody can deny whatever Im doing, it seems to be working for me.

Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.

Sir Winston Churchill (18741965)

Long before I was conscripted into the Army at the age of twenty in 1940 and had a sergeant major inspecting my uniform, the shine on my boots and the polish on my buttons, I was a tidy person who came from a tidy family. I was certainly never a lie-a-bed, and no Moore ever slouched around in casual clothes or left the house looking anything other than presentable. That just wasnt done, and the family ethos shaped my life.