All,

Stickman, you are indeed a unique individual.

Veterans Day is...SHOULD be special.

My kids get school off for Columbus Day, Martin Luther King Day, Yom Kipor. Probably all for good reason but not even close to the importance of a day to acknowledge what military people have done for this country. It should be a day as important as the 4th of July since there would be no 4th of July without the vets of 1776.

Folks,

Stickman:

Go ahead, burn up that keyboard, vent your rage. As always, you are a "trip". I hope that you and yours had a great 23rd anniversary celebration on Sunday. We did remind you it was coming up over a week ago.

I wonder why Veteran's Day doesn't rate being moved to a Monday like so many others have been? It seems to me that if you can move someone's birthday celebration to a Monday you can move a commemorative holi-date like this. I think that would be one way to help emphasize the importance of the day.

The movie "Saving Ryan's Privates", wait that can't possibly be right..... "Saving Private Ryan" will be shown on TV tonight in commemoration of Veteran's Day. I will certainly try to watch that one again.

Folks,

Sorry double post!

JR2, to give you some idea of how wacked portions of this country are becoming several CBS affiliates have decided in their infinite wisdom not to air Saving Private Ryan because it is a violent movie and has some baaaad words.

For Gods sake what the hell is wrong with these people. !!

Folks,

SNAFU:

I was not aware of that schedule change. I've seen the promos on cable perhaps I should also check my local listings? What are they showing in place of SPR then, re-runs of Pee-Wee's Playhouse or Earnest Goes to Camp?

Sigh, sadly, at the banquet of life there is never enough intelligence served, yet somehow there is always more than enough stupidity to go around. :rolleyes:

Having said that I suppose those who experienced the real thing (D-Day) first-hand hated the violence even more than those Chicken S--t CBS affiliates and ironically, they fought and died to preserve the rights of everyone to freely make such choices. :rolleyes:

Stickman,
couldn't agree more.
As a young man, Nov.11 was always a holiday here, but then many of the population would show up at the cenotaph for Remembrance Day ceremonies. Eventually it became just a day off. The one advantage that I have found for this now being a working day, is that as a teacher, I take full advantage of my postion to teach the children the meaning and significance of this day.
I am always encouraged by the sincerity with which the children observe this event.

This started out a typical Remembrance Day in Ontario, a dark veil of cloud hung low above our heads. The trees and all ther other fauna were now bare and lifeless. Only the wind remained animated - a cold and chilling breeze that blew the helpless dead leaves into forgotten corners, like the souls of dead soldiers. It looked as though it could have drizzled sofly, or even lightly snowed as it so often did in the past. But it remained dry.
The blood red Maple Leaf flags fluttered at half mast. The many pedestrians appeared to go about their daily routines. Typical of Toronto, these busy folk have come from all ends of the earth, making one wonder how many felt the significance of this day of armistice. Yet all, or nearly all of them wore a poppy.
And once again, as is always the case, the minute of silence was observed in our schools. The students, who can never manage to keep from fidgeting for more than a few moments, right down to the kindergarteners stood motionless as statues. Yes, they all grasp, by some strange intuition, the solemnity of this occasion - that this day is different. They may not understand it all yet, as even I do not fully understand, but those who have gone before may take comfort in knowing that those for whom their sacrifice was made, have not forgotten.

Folks,

C51:

All,

JR2, correction it was ABC, not CBS. In my area we can get the Washington and Baltimore affiliate. The Baltimore ABC did not carry SPR while DC did. Although I have it on DVD I watched it once again. The beginning is still the most powerful 15 minutes in the history of movie making IMO.

Yes choice is appropriate. Folks could decide to watch or not. The damned TV people should not make the decision for us all.

C51

Folks,

SNAFU:

Yes, ABC and not CBS. I figured that out for myself by applying a scientific process of elimination. In other words by checking all 600 channels at random to see what was on each one.

Fortunately, I remembered that since SPR took place in France there probably were no parts in that film for a bunch of tropically dressed, weird acting jungle people. I guessed correctly that I was in fact watching an episode of "Survivor" instead of the Spielberg/Hanks film and so I switched channels just in time.

Quite so, there are other choices, other channels if one cares for them. It is their prerogative of course however it smacks of censorship to moi. I was expecting fewer commercial breaks for some reason. As you say, the beginning 15 minutes of the combat on the beaches of D-Day are always exciting, and to my mind they are also super-realistic.

To me however, and perhaps because I have a son myself, the most compelling moment in that entire film, the stirring moment during which I hold my breath and sit with eyes welling up, is the early scene when that dear mother looks out her kitchen window and sees the official military car coming up that long, winding dirt road. When her grief overcomes her and she kneels in agony on her porch I feel more concentrated pain at that single moment than at any other time during the movie. Multiply that grief times tens of thousands across the whole globe and you get an idea of the true horror of a world war.

It is a very good, well balanced film IMHO. It shows excesses on both sides and having seen it one becomes more aware of the pain and futility of war. I do not like the Tom Hanks citizen-soldier character being killed at the end of the film. I understand it, I agree with it on some level, I just don't like it. Other than that I wouldn't change a thing.

Folks,

Pardon my ramblings, skip this if you like and please type something more cheery yourself.

For me it is a dreary, overcast day today. A cold north wind blows across eastern North Carolina twisting the crumbling shreds of leaves still hanging onto trembling branches.

As the old dog and I took our long walk over wet leaves, through the woods and down by the river this morning I couldn't help my mind drifting back to warmer days, sunnier days, days of spring and of summer. And then I thought of all the tomorrows ahead of me and of all those days already past that so many brave and patriotic men and women were by their supreme sacrifice denied. And I was ashamed for allowing just one cloudy day to depress me so.

I heard a distinctive chirp. Looking around I spied a bright red dot sitting there preening himself on a dripping evergreen branch. We were transfixed watching that little spot of scarlet. So bright was he against all the gray and gloom the dog and I stood for a long moment watching, listening. Suddenly, and without warning the Cardinal left its bouncing perch and flew deeper into the forest. Perhaps he had gone to brighten someone else's monotone day? We continued on our walk but somehow the world seemed a little brighter.

At least for me it did. You'll have to ask the dog what he thought about it. There is always at least a tiny spot of hope in every day if you just look for it.