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WORTH REMEMBERING
Friday Nov. 16, 2018
The eleventh hour. Peculiar phrase – idiom in our language yet rarely will you encounter someone who doesn’t understand. It means, near the end – near an apocalyptic moment, near disaster because, when the clock strikes twelve it’s all doom and gloom. Over. Done …
I was pondering this – so obviously on Nov. 11th, that day when we remember not just soldiers who died and wars that ended. We celebrate too, a peace which began - 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, 1918. And remembrance of all who’ve served in conflicts since.
Worldwide phenomenon of respect, reverence and remembrance. I chose not to publish something about remembrance on the 11th. I wasn’t ready. Because I wanted to do my remembering for a few more days …
I wanted to make a point which might be lost on younger folks whose parents haven’t lived during war-time. I remember the ‘old Magnum P.I. show’ where the three main guy-characters were buddies from Vietnam Days. I was watching an episode of the ‘new Magnum P.I. show’ the other night and realized all three actors playing those parts were born post-Vietnam War.
And then on the 11th I got a communication from someone following up on a business opportunity – it was a Sunday, it was Nov. 11th, and my reaction was ‘that’s not cool’, not appropriate, not respectful, tacky …
Reactions to ‘things about war’, and about Nov. 11th must be – depending on who we are, what we’ve lived, what our parents lived and where we lived – about our personal context of what we’ve known and who we’ve known connected to war and its collateral damages.
My dad was in the Air Force in World War II. He served on air bases in Canada – never saw duty overseas, but he was ready, willing and able to go if called. A high school friend of mine, a Canadian, went to the U.S. to sign up to fight in Vietnam. All over the world, ‘everybody knows somebody’ who lived in or though or near a war, every knows someone who is or is related to someone who is a veteran of some conflict somewhere where simply being there as citizen, combatant or peace-keeper put their life at risk.
They didn’t run, they didn’t hide, they didn’t avoid risk or their reality.
That’s worth remembering.
Let us not forget. And keep reminding those who’ve not lived in or near or had family members in war zones - teach them how important it is to know. And how important it is to remember.
Reader feedback:
DREAM SCAPE
That’s what you get for misquoting Shakespeare the previous day. “ To die, to sleep - to sleep, perchance to dream - ay, there’s the rub, for in this sleep of death what dreams may come...” This is the soliloquy where Hamlet ponders suicide. Small wonder your dreams went dark, RH, Calgary, AB
Good morning Mark. Thank you again for your morning missive - Dreamscape. Have you ever heard of Quora or been on the website. Just curious? I have just recently become aware of its existence. It promotes itself as ‘A place to share knowledge and understand the world’. I am reading a book by Dr Jordan Peterson titled – 12 Rules for Life – An Antidote to Chaos. It is in the pages of this book – which I am finding very interesting - I first read about Quora. I have not signed up yet but given all the topics, thoughts and questions you broach in your writing I suspect this website would have some appeal to you. I say this based based on what I have read in the book. Anyway it is just a suggestion that you take a quick look at Quora, if you are not already familiar. Best regards, RT, Vancouver, BC
TO SLEEP, PERCHANCE TO PUBLISH
I get enough sleep but still write so little compared to you. I don’t know how you do it. I blog about once every two months. Yesterday was the day jmaydaze.com/2018/11/12/flight-risk/ , JM, Seattle, WA
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