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Today marks the beginning of Veteran's Week, so the organization I'll highlight for November is the Royal Canadian Legion. I bought my poppy yesterday, at a Pet Valu location.
Most people know that proceeds from the sale of poppies are used for programs supporting veterans. But during the pandemic, even if you have regularly bought and worn your poppy every year, you may have found that opportunities for obtaining a poppy are very limited. And I fear sales may be lagging, and services to veterans may be compromised.
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the poppy as a symbol of remembrance in Canada. And if you wish, you can order a $10 made-in-Canada 100th anniversary edition of the poppy from the Legion's website, here:
https://www.legion.ca/remembrance/poppy-100-anniversary
There's also a variety of merchandise you can purchase from the Poppy Shop, again with all profits put towards supporting veterans. Or you can join the Legion and pay annual dues.
I don't plan to attend any in-person Remembrance Day ceremonies this year but I still consider it important to wear the poppy during Veteran's Week.
The Canadian flag will be restored to full mast on federal government buildings on Sunday, November 7. It will be lowered on November 8 to honour indigenous veterans and restored on November 9, lowered on November 11 for Remembrance Day and then raised on November 12. I'm pleased to see an end to the six months of half mast, which to my mind merely served to cheapen the symbolism of half-masting the flag. I mean, consider even very famous people of national, sometimes international significance for whom we lowered the flag. I don't think we ever lowered the flag for more than a week at the most.
OK. So I'll end on a personal note. My father, who worked for many years for the Defence Research Board, part of the federal Department of National Defence, died on November 7, 1999. Visitation was held in the evening on November 11 followed by a private funeral on November 12, 1999. My mother had opined that no one would be interested in visitation and that we would all be rattling around the funeral parlour getting on each other's nerves. But as it happened, there was a steady stream of people paying their respects all evening. Many of them were Dad's former colleagues but there were also extended family and friends.
Today, after picking up a library book at the Nepean Centrepointe branch, I visited my parents' gravesite at Pinecrest Cemetery. It's not something I feel the need to do all that often but today seemed like the right time. The weather was sunny if a trifle cold. There was a funeral or memorial service going on nearby. I wandered the graves and reflected on the continuity of life through the generations.
Most people know that proceeds from the sale of poppies are used for programs supporting veterans. But during the pandemic, even if you have regularly bought and worn your poppy every year, you may have found that opportunities for obtaining a poppy are very limited. And I fear sales may be lagging, and services to veterans may be compromised.
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the poppy as a symbol of remembrance in Canada. And if you wish, you can order a $10 made-in-Canada 100th anniversary edition of the poppy from the Legion's website, here:
https://www.legion.ca/remembrance/poppy-100-anniversary
There's also a variety of merchandise you can purchase from the Poppy Shop, again with all profits put towards supporting veterans. Or you can join the Legion and pay annual dues.
I don't plan to attend any in-person Remembrance Day ceremonies this year but I still consider it important to wear the poppy during Veteran's Week.
The Canadian flag will be restored to full mast on federal government buildings on Sunday, November 7. It will be lowered on November 8 to honour indigenous veterans and restored on November 9, lowered on November 11 for Remembrance Day and then raised on November 12. I'm pleased to see an end to the six months of half mast, which to my mind merely served to cheapen the symbolism of half-masting the flag. I mean, consider even very famous people of national, sometimes international significance for whom we lowered the flag. I don't think we ever lowered the flag for more than a week at the most.
OK. So I'll end on a personal note. My father, who worked for many years for the Defence Research Board, part of the federal Department of National Defence, died on November 7, 1999. Visitation was held in the evening on November 11 followed by a private funeral on November 12, 1999. My mother had opined that no one would be interested in visitation and that we would all be rattling around the funeral parlour getting on each other's nerves. But as it happened, there was a steady stream of people paying their respects all evening. Many of them were Dad's former colleagues but there were also extended family and friends.
Today, after picking up a library book at the Nepean Centrepointe branch, I visited my parents' gravesite at Pinecrest Cemetery. It's not something I feel the need to do all that often but today seemed like the right time. The weather was sunny if a trifle cold. There was a funeral or memorial service going on nearby. I wandered the graves and reflected on the continuity of life through the generations.
