Peter knew it was coming.  Darn right he did.  He could hear about it in the newspapers, the conversation on the street, even in the private meetings and conferences he was privileged to because of his high position.  He didn’t know when, of course, but he darn sure knew it was coming.  

            Peter was Baron Pierre de Coubertin.  That’s right.  He was French.  But nothing unusual there since he lived in France.  And because of his rank as a baron, part of the French royalty, he was often included in some of the most sensitive and confidential discussions about his country and his government.  And one thing was clear, at least to Peter; war was coming.  Maybe not this year, maybe not next, but it was coming.

            His country of France and their neighbor Germany had been fussing at each other for years now.  It was nothing new.  The reasons were more numerous than the leaves on the trees, but mostly the French thought Germany was much too aggressive, and Germany thought the French didn’t keep their word when it was given. 

            There was more of course.  There is always more.  For one thing, Germany was undergoing a huge depression and when it turned to its neighbor for help, none was forthcoming, which made the Kaiser quite angry.  Oh yeah.  War was coming.

            And for Peter there was one sobering thought.  His people weren’t ready.  Too much wine, too much bread and cheese, too much pastry and an easy, laissez-faire lifestyle had turned his country into a bunch of softies - at least in his mind.  Something had to be done to get his people in shape for when and - well, there was no “if” to it - war was to come.  

            He had an idea.  It was an old idea, but it had worked before - about 1,500 years before.  And Peter thought it was a good one.  He presented his idea to the French government, but it was met with a big yawn.  So he took it to some small special interest groups. There too, it was discounted.  But the Baron Coubertin was not to be dissuaded.  He kept at it and kept at it and finally someone paid attention.  The program was put into place and it was so popular it gained worldwide attention and participation. 

            You see it was not, as some believe and have told you, that a group of business people got together and re-instituted a very ancient tradition in order to promote peace and good relations between countries.  No.  Not at all.  It’s a Little Known Fact that it was Baron Pierre de Coubertin who got it started strictly as a way to get his fellow French citizens in shape for what he knew was a coming war.  And it was.