One Year On....

It is very hard for me to believe: one year ago today, I was excitedly preparing for my first trip to England.  Where in the world did the time go?    And I am feeling decidedly sad.

I'm sad because I remember how excited--and nervous--I was, to be flying again, after so many years.   Little did I realize how much the 'flying world' had changed since 9/11/01: more security checks, more intrusive questions--and the confiscation of health and beauty products deemed to be 'too much' to bring on board an aircraft.   But I put up with all that, just for the opportunity to achieve a dream: to visit a country I'd longed to see, and to finally meet with online English correspondents in person.

I particularly chose to go in November, because of the 'Remembrance season'.   In England, and in much of continental Europe, 11 November is Armistice Day: the anniversary of the end of the First World War.   England, and countries like Belgium and France, suffered terrible losses in that war.   And Armistice Day is a day that's taken very seriously.   It is when the people remember not only the dead from the First World War; they also remember those who died in the Second World War.   And for Britain in particular, they also remember those who've died in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

From the end of October until Remembrance Sunday (the Sunday after 11 November), the British can be seen wearing poppy pins: a custom begun just after the Armistice.   Today, the poppy pins are sold by the Royal British Legion, to raise funds to care for war veterans past and present, and their families.   Everywhere one looks, one could see these little poppies worn on coats, suits and dresses.   And I wanted to be part of that; I wanted to see the way the British observe this most solemn day.

Even now, a year on, I wear poppy pins during this same time frame.   I want to remember those from Britain, Canada, Belgium and France, who lost their lives in 'the war to end all wars'.   I just wish that Americans showed that same seriousness of thought, instead of using 11 November as a reason to hold a retail sale.   It frustrates me to no end.

In any case, my thoughts now are with my English friends, and all those I encountered in England, Belgium and France, one year ago.   And I want to say to all those, in the military cemeteries I visited:

"At the going down of the sun, 

and in the morning:

We Will Remember Them".