11:00 of the 11th day of the 11th Month
Today is Remembrance Day. At 11:00 am the First World War ended. It is a time to reflect on those brave men and women who took up arms to preserve our freedom. Time to think and pray for our brave troops in Afghanistan who are trying to and will bring freedom to those poor people.
My father and his fellow Canadian soldiers brought freedom to the Dutch in 45 and I pray that the sons and grandchildren of his comrades can do the same for the Afghans and that they too can become our close friends.
So when you drive around today think about some of the funny street names around Memorial Park. Ypres, Somme, Mons, Vimy, Amiens, Arras and the others are WW1 battlefields where our boys showed the world how brave we as a people are. At Ypres, we suffered in the first gas attack of the war and held our position while others ran. The Germans discovered a deep respect for out lads then and it may have been the root of our nationhood.
Walk to Dieppe Gardens and take a moment. It is not named after a founding family but a little town on the coast in France. There in 42 the Essex Scottish participated in a calamitous raid that was horrific in its costs. Here the Essex Scottish managed to get the farthest inland of any unit. This park is sacred ground, a shrine to those poor men and not a place to party.
Wear you poppy proudly. Those gentlemen who sell them are heroes who forfeited so much so that we could remain free. Treat them with respect and honor . So if he or she looks cold offer them a coffee, it's the least we can do for them.
