Sunday is Remembrance Day.
I wondered what I could say as the day brings so many people to mind. Let's remember those Canadians who are currently serving in Afghanistan and around the world, as well as all the veterans.
A few people from the many I'll always remember.
My grandfather, John Wesley A. who served in World War One in the British Expeditionary Forces (from Canada) and never revealed the horrors of his four years in the trenches to us.
The men and women who lived in the Veterans' Wing at Sunnybrook Hospital.. I knew so many of them but some stand out in my mind.
Allistair H captained a destroyer (WW II) and liked to paint silk scarves.
Fred LeF volunteered before he was of age (WW I) . He had the world's biggest smile and adored I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles
Connie, nurse (WWII) couldn't talk but could sing as loudly as Ethel Merman.
Fred K (WW II) loved to work on the potter's wheel, though he had Parkinson's disease and sometimes got stuck in one position for several minutes.
Arthur B. (WW II) the shortest man in his regiment. He wore the biggest hats and spent his time building beautiful doll houses and drinking smuggled-in wine, when he could get some.
The veterans I worked with at the community centre and through the CNIB.
Vi (WW II Women's Army Corps) lost almost all her vision but none of her memories.
Claire H. (WW II) a gentle man who reminded me of my grandfather and who coped with his infirmities with infinite grace.
The list in my head is much longer, but I cannot write all the names down,
"We'll Meet Again"
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