Killing Time, Not the Enemy

    This man created black and white sketches while serving as an infantryman during World War II. Not all of his images depicted combat. Many of his sketches revealed the drudgeries of a soldier’s existence.
     In the photo, he holds a sketch depicting men hanging around on a ship. They look bored.
     One person on that vessel wasn’t bored. The artist occupied his mind by drawing. Later he went on to a successful career. I photographed him at his home in Massachusetts.
     All endeavors—fighting wars, running a household, making a living, just to name a few—include bouts of drudgery. Some people are better than others at handling that condition.
     Can success be predicted by how well someone grapples with drudgery?