I thought that I had posted something on this topic on my old personal blog a few years ago, but I wasn’t able to find it anywhere (or on any of my former blogs).
Anyway, today is Remembrance Day in Canada. For those of you who aren’t Canadian, you can get the sense of it here . As I posted in my short note about this last year (see An Act of Remembrance ), today is the reason why we wear poppies on your left lapel in Canada.
It is the reason why we gather to recite the poem…
In Flanders Fields
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders Fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders Fields.
- John McCrae
Simply put, it is the reason we remember. So take time today to think about those who have fought to preserve the freedom that we enjoy today. And at 11:00am today, make sure to observe two minutes of silence.
A Pittance of Time – Terry KellyFinally, let me at include the link for this week’s broadcast of CBC Radio’s Vinyl Cafe: VC: November 8th, 2008 “Remembrance Day” If you don’t have anyone to remember today, like Stuart, just remember George Lawrence Price.