Antoine is no more. He left on Good Friday. April 22, 2011. He is in the house of the Father. Antoine is Antoine Lecerf . Lieutenant General Antoine Lecerf. A master of war. A brilliant leader of men. One of the most extraordinary men I have known.
When you first met Antoine Lecerf, there was this frank and firm handshake, but there was immediately something else; something about charisma. Antoine Lecerf is said to have charmed snakes. He shook your hand and immediately there was a spell. He wanted to know right away if you were with him, if you were ready, if you supported his project. Which project ? There was a new one every five minutes. And he didn't drop any. He thought fast, but his friendship lasted a long time. He wanted to know if you were with him and he had an infallible way of knowing it: he shook your hand, he kept it, his face approached yours, he came to meet you, he wanted to know. He shook your hand, he kept it, his face approached yours and he wrinkled his left eyelid a little as if to improve his visual acuity, as if to be sure of what he was going to see, of what you were going to reveal to him. His squinted eye, that penetrating gaze was looking for something. He was looking for that little flame. He wanted to know if you too were animated. Antoine Lecerf only consorted with lively people. Nothing interested him more than to know if you were too, or even to a lesser degree if you could be (which was enough to satisfy him, because the potential had a special value for him). Antoine Lecerf chose you. And nothing was less the result of chance.
Continue reading “And by Saint Antoine… (Death of General Antoine Lecerf)”
