poppies -- red and white

Photo: Andwar

November seems to be the right time for Remembrance Day, with its grey and sombre weather. Even when the sun shines, November is a month of serious things.

In this Year of the Veteran, remembrances of wars and the people who have fought in them are especially vivid and touching. Many of the veterans of World War II will not be with us much longer as they are people in their 80's and older.

The retrospective on CBC and the coverage of Parliament Hill services have been moving. The light shining through the window of the War Museum, on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, to frame the headstone of the unknown soldier, is the realization of a beautiful and respectful vision.

The terrors of war and how they destroy souls are vividly depicted in Crash Landing, to be presented on Passionate Eye again this upcoming Monday.

And white poppies, something I had never heard of before, but which have apparently been around since after World War I. White poppies to promote peace, not to replace the red and the life-blood they represent, but to complement them.