Remembrance

I read this year that there's some concern that November 11 has just become a "holiday" from work. It is that, too, I admit. And a welcome one. I needed this long weekend. I didn't go to the Remembrance Day ceremony this year. It gets very good attendance in Saskatoon. I think there were over 8,000 this November 11. It's good to go to it. It's very impacting. But even though I'm not at work and not at the ceremony and am enjoying a quiet day at home, it doesn't mean I don't "remember". I do. I give considerable thought.

It's good to be able to put a face to the "remembering". A face to represent the countless faces that deserve to be remembered. My face to remember is Kevin's Uncle Reg. Here he is from a photo taken during the air show in 2006, with Lieutenant (Navy) Petra Smith. Reg is a veteran from 431 Squadron, who served in a bomber squadron during World War II. That hardly tells his story, though. That he survived is nothing short of a miracle after the many times his plane went down, among other calamities. So, of course, I salute in my heart Uncle Reg and all the others who did what I can't even imagine sending my own son to do.

I have a couple of other faces that I include in my remembering. And those are Norma and Foster. Young faces. Young faces worthy of equal remembering, respect, and awe. Young people who want to make the world a better place and who are doing something about it.

I think all Canadians have Remembrance Day ingrained in them just as strongly as our national anthem. And that's a good thing.