“No One Wounds Me And Goes Unpunished”

I had two Scottish professors in medical school. The first was from Glasgow and had a think Scottish burr. We learned that the tra-CHE-a was in the cer-VEYE-cal region, nourished by ca-PILL-aries that carried ox-YGEN-ated blood. It took a while, but we learned.

The second professor was also Scottish, but his accent was more musical, almost Irish. Later I learned why. He was born on the Isle of Lewis, off the coast of the highlands. There the native tongue is Gaelic, and kids learn English in school, so they sound much like Irishmen.

Most people know that President Trump’s paternal grandparents came from what is now Germany. But few know that his mother was Mary Ann McLeod, born on the Isle of Lewis. This explains Trump’s first name. Not too many Germans are named Donald. It also may explain his red hair and independent nature.

Welcome, Donald, to your mother’s homeland. The motto of the Scots Guards is “Nemo me impune lacessit,” no one wounds me and goes unpunished. Whether he knows that or not, it appears to have been absorbed into Trump’s marrow. Not a bad motto for a leader in difficult times.