Putting candy and combat into proper perspective
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Every year at this time I am struck by an odd contrast of events. I imagine most people don’t see it, but working at the newspaper it’s a glaring juxtaposition.
In this edition you will find pictures of children enjoying Halloween on page 13 and pictures of veterans who served our country in times of war and peace on pages 14 and 15.
In the same week, I was taking pictures of children laughing and shrieking and having fun, but I was also talking to veterans and hearing some of their stories. As well, I was talking to North Island parents who have children serving in Afghanistan.
I find it disturbing, because Halloween, or at least trick or treating, is all about selfishness while Remembrance Day is all about selflessness.
Not that vets would complain. They fought so that children could be free to dress up, be silly, laugh, enjoy fireworks and eat candy. They lived during a time when sugar and chocolate were scarce, and fun was always tempered by fear. And so they revel in seeing the sweet rewards of their sacrifice.
What concerns me, thought, is that while families go all out for Halloween, spending time and money on costumes, pumpkins, decorations and treats, a lot fewer take part in Remembrance Day.
All the work that goes into Halloween could and should be tempered by a couple of minutes at the cenotaph on Nov. 11. And failing that, at least two minutes silence at 11 a.m. on that day.
When my children were young, and we didn’t live in a community where there were Remembrance Day services, we watched national services on TV or listened on the radio. It is important to me because war impacted my family history and I believe the sacrifices of my grandparents should never be forgotten by those they fought for.
For most of us, war is not part of our daily lives. We are spoiled by peace. But that is why Nov. 11 has been set aside: to remember that peace and prosperity came at a price, a price that most of us are not willing to pay again.
Wherever you live on the North Island, whether your community holds Remembrance Day services or not, take time this Nov. 11 to remember how sweet it is to live as we do in Canada. Lest we forget.
Gazette editor Teresa Bird and her husband live in Port McNeill.
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