Here is a dramatic story that I’ll probably remember as long as I live.It was told to me by Robert Moore，of 14Highland Avenue，Maplewood，New Jersey.
“I learned the biggest lesson of my life in March，1945，”he said，“I learned it under 276feet of water off the coast of Indo-China.I was one of eighty-eight men aboard the submarine Baya S.S.318.We had discovered by radar that a small Japanese convoy was coming our way.As daybreak approached，we submerged to attack.I saw through the periscope a Jap destroyer escort，a tanker，and a minelayer.We fired three torpedoes at the destroyer escort，but missed.Something went haywire in the mechanics of each torpedo.The destroyer，not knowing that she had been attacked，continued on.We were getting ready to attack the last ship，the minelayer，when suddenly she turned and came directly at us.（A Jap plane had spotted us under sixty feet of water and had radioed our position to the Jap minelayer.）We went down to 150feet，to avoid detection，and rigged for a depth charge.We put extra bolts on the hatches；and，in order to make our sub absolutely silent，we turned off the fans，the cooling system，and all electrical gear.
“Three minutes later，all hell broke loose.Six depth charges exploded all around us and pushed us down to the ocean floor—a depth of 276feet.We were terrified.To be attacked in less than a thousand feet of water is dangerous—less than five hundred feet is almost always fatal.And we were being attacked in a triflemore than half of five hundred feet of water—just about knee-deep，as far as safety was concerned.For fifteen hours，that Jap minelayer kept dropping depth charges.If a depth charge explodes within seventeen feet of a sub，the concussion will blow a hole in it.Scores of these depth charges exploded within fifty feet of us.We were ordered ‘to secure’—to lie quietly in our bunks and remain calm.I was so terrified I could hardly breathe.‘this is death，’I kept saying to myself over and over.‘this is death！...This is death！’With the fans and cooling system turned off，the air inside the sub was over a hundred degrees；but I was so chilled with fear that I put on a sweater and a fur-lined jacket；and still I trembled with cold.My teeth chattered.I broke out in a cold，clammy sweat.The attack continued for fifteen hours.Then ceased suddenly.Apparently the Jap minelayer had exhausted its supply of depth charges，and steamed away.Those fifteen hours of attack seemed like fifteen million years.
All my life passed before me in review.I remembered all the bad things I had done，all the little absurd things I had worried about.I had been a bank clerk before I joined the Navy.I had worried about the long hours，the poor pay，the poor prospects of advancement.I had worried because I couldn’t own my own home，couldn’t buy a new car，couldn’t buy my wife nice clothes.How I had hated my old boss，who was always nagging and scolding！I remembered how I would come home at night sore and grouchy and quarrel with my wife over trifles.I had worried about a scar on my forehead—a nasty cut from an auto accident.
“How big all these worries seemed years ago！But how absurd they seemed when depth charges were threatening to blow me to kingdom come.I promised myself then and there that if I ever saw the sun and the stars again，I would never，never worry again.Never！Never！I Never！！！I learned more about the art of living inthose fifteen terrible hours in that submarine than I had learnedby studying books for four years in Syracuse University.”
We often face the major disasters of life bravely—and then let the trifles，the “pains in the neck”，get us down.For example，Samuel Pepys tells in his Diary about seeing Sir Harry Vane’s head chopped off in London.As Sir Harry mounted the platform，he was not pleading for his life，but was pleading with the executioner not to hit the painful boil on his neck！
That was another thing that Admiral Byrd discovered down in the terrible cold and darkness of the polar nights—that his men fussed more about the “pains in the neck”than about the big things.They bore，without complaining，the dangers，the hardships，and the cold that was often eighty degrees below zero.“But，”says Admiral Byrd，“I know of bunkmates who quit speaking because each suspected the other of inching his gear into the other’s allotted space；and I knew of one who could not eat unless he could find a place in the mess hall out of sight of the Fletcherist who solemnly chewed his food twenty-eight times before swallowing.
“In a polar camp，”says Admiral Byrd，“little things like that have the power to drive even disciplined men to the edge of insanity.”
And you might have added，Admiral Byrd，that “little things”in marriage drive people to the edge of insanity and cause “half the heartaches in the world.”
At least，that is what the authorities say.For example，Judge Joseph Sabath of Chicago，after acting as arbiter in more than forty thousand unhappy marriages，declared：“Trivialities are at the bottom of most marital unhappiness”；and Frank S.Hogan，District Attorney of New York County，says：“Fully half the cases in our criminal courts originate in little things.Bar-roombravado，domestic wrangling，an insulting remark，a disparaging word，a rude action—those are the little things that lead to assault and murder.Very few of us are cruelly and greatly wronged.It is the small blows to our self-esteem，the indignities，the little jolts to our vanity，which cause half the heartaches in the world.”
When Eleanor Roosevelt was first married，she “worried for days”because her new cook had served a poor meal.“But if that happened now，”Mrs.Roosevelt says，“I would shrug my shoulders and forget it.”Good.That is acting like an adult emotionally.Even Catherine the Great，an absolute autocrat，used to laugh the thing off when the cook spoiled a meal.
