Remembrance Day

[lordshipmayhem]

In Flanders Fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row

Lest we forget

To my grandfather's generation, from whom my family sent three warriors to the First World War and got back two: Thank you. I remember.

To my father's generation, from whom my family sent out two warriors and thankfully got back both, if one after a very lengthy convalescence from war wounds: Thank you.

To today's weather. When I was an Army Cadet, every year was spent at the cenotaph in the wind, the freezing cold, and often with snow or bone-chilling rain falling gently down. Me and my fellow Cadidiots would stand stiffly "at ease", the Old Farts (said with affection) from the First World War would weep silently in their wheelchairs and the Old Farts from the Second would stand unsteadily on their psudopods, probably due to the insulating effect of the brandy they'd consumed to ward off the chill. First, some politician who wouldn't know one end of a PIAT gun from the other would mutter some stock phrases, knowing all the while that their audience would be better off anywhere but there - the voters in this crowd in danger of contracting pneumonia, and the last thing any wise politician wants is to kill off the one crowd they can count on coming out to vote. After that, some over-eager teen girl (always a girl, the panel which chose her being made up of veterans who preferred to look at someone young and cute rather than someone old and irascible) would say 10 words for every one uttered by the politicians. Finally the frozen bugler would play Last Post, his brass bugle being so frozen the tune would sound like some demented kazoo solo.

Then everyone would march back to the Armouries, the grizzled old ones to a beer and the kids to home and hot chocolate - and to a cold which would linger for the next three days.

There are some things I miss from the old days. The World War I vets, all too many of the World War II vets (who are now dying at a rate faster than they did during the days of the bloodiest battles of their War). I do NOT miss the inevitable head cold.