Bragg
Creek, Alberta
Remembrance Day
I
recall my dad telling wartime stories of the Nazi invasion into the Netherlands
(his place of birth), of loss of life, of mistrust, of curfews and scraping by
on meagre means. He was 20 and wasn’t
aware of his future, whether he would live out the war or whether parents and siblings
would survive. It was a great time of
uncertainty and fear, and you weren’t sure where your next meal was coming
from.
Fortunately
for the Dutch, it was a homeland of innovation and greenhouses, but still many
folks in the cities did not have those commodities that the rural areas had.
Rationing of food, living frugally and resorting to the tulip bulbs as food is
a hard reality for post-war kids to wrap their minds around, what to speak of
millennials and those in-between.
My
description almost makes light of the gruesomeness of war but it is an
inevitable reoccurrence within humanity.
On this day, Canadians honour Remembrance Day, a meditation for the soldiers
who gave up theirs lives, and those who sacrificed in other wars in recent
times, and to my mind, ancient times right up to the ancient epochs, including
our Indigenous First Nations. The minute or more of silence designated for the
lost lives and the wounded cannot suffice for the sacrifice done. We are speaking of a countless number of
entities—countless.
The
red poppy has been the symbol of our fallen warriors for years now. More recently the white poppy has come into
use, and stands for the medics, chaplains, peripheral workers etc. who gave their
all. And with the hopeful
coming-into-mainstream, the purple poppy, that acknowledges the innocent
animals who perished in the cross-fire and on the front lines as part of the
armed forces. These images represent the
truth of ultimate giving.
May
the Source be with you!
5
km
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