The following column appeared in a previous edition of the 91原创 Times.
Her delicate youth stood out on this cold grey November morning. The crowd was predominately older generations that had come to the cenotaph to pay respects for other generations that had given us so much on other grey November mornings.
Her bright yellow jacket seemed out of place amidst the blues and the blacks, the somber uniforms and the solemn faces. She was taking it all in as young children do, watching the old timers, listening to the hymns, pointing upward at the fly past and holding on tight to Grandpa.
I had watched as her Dad had taken her over to Grandpa and she was most pleased that he had picked her up and given her a great vantage point. As she looked around, she absently played with the poppy on her Grandpa鈥檚 lapel, spinning it, taking it off, and putting it back on. I wondered what was going through her mind.
She was probably too young yet to realize the significance of the day.
Maybe it was too early to tell her all those terrible stories but what mattered was that she was here today, for that is where the hope for all changes begin, with the next generations.
At least that鈥檚 what McGregor says.
Grandpa鈥檚 Friends
Grandpa pinned a pretty poppy
On his big black coat today,
He always stands up straighter
When he wears that coat that way;
He was humming to his friends again
So soft, that no one hears,
But I think he knows I鈥檓 listening
And he lets me see his tears.
He was talking to his friends today,
I heard him when he prayed
Now we鈥檙e going to see them
At my Grandpa鈥檚 big parade.
I sit high on Daddy鈥檚 shoulders
And try to catch my Grandpa鈥檚 eye
But he鈥檚 looking at the Maple Leaf
And he salutes as he walks by.
I ask if I can meet his friends
So he takes me for a walk;
We kneel beside a list of names
All written on a rock.
He tells me they were left behind
In cold and distant rain,
He can only talk to them in prayer
They can鈥檛 come home again.
鈥榃e had to pay the price鈥�, he says
To bring war to an end;鈥�
I think Freedom鈥檚 pretty costly
If you have to pay with friends.
鈥榃hy did you do all that for me?鈥�
鈥業 wasn鈥檛 born yet.鈥�
He held me close and whispered
鈥業 don鈥檛 want you to forget.鈥�
鈥業 did it for my Mom and Dad,鈥�
Then his eyes began to water
鈥業 did it for your Dad, and you
And for your son and daughter.鈥�
So I鈥檒l always pin my poppy on,
Take my grandkids on parade;
Kneel underneath the Maple Leaf,
To thank the friends my Grandpa made.
