The Darkness of the Matinee

Another lightweight hero today, but the show must go on as they say. Franz Joseph I is the ancient looking fellow above. He managed to remain emperor of Austria-Hungary from 1848 to 1916, a whopping 67 years. Any fool (and he was a bit of a fool) that can pull that kind of magic trick is worthy of hero status. Sometimes just showing up is enough to win the race, and Franz Joseph did do a lot of just showing up. An early riser, he was usually at his desk slaving away by 6 a.m. on most mornings. To keep the ramshackle Austro-Hungarian Empire together at all was a heroic task, not exactly sure how much he had to do with it, but praise always goes to the guy at the top, and blame to the plodder at the bottom. I guess you can say that he was at least a hard worker, which does count for something. He married a complete shrew, and had quite a tosser for a son/heir. One committed suicide with his mistress, and the other got assassinated by a raving lunatic. Not a particularly happy personal life, and no wonder he had to find some solace in the young, blonde, actresses type. Though it would appear that solace is all he took, but I guess to each his own, and he was the Emperor, and could do what he damn well pleased I suppose. For just showing up to work for about 67 years, and keeping all those Slavs, Huns, Czechs, Magyars, and Slovenes from murdering the world before its time, Franz Joseph I (August 18th, 1830-November 21st, 1916) you are my hero of the day.