Lest We Forget

  • Tuesday, November 16, 2010
  • November 11, 2010: 11:11, a number we so often see when we quickly glance at our watches or clocks. The number’s constant appearance,

    “is… a powerful confirmation that we are on the right track,” and “tend(s) to occur during times of heightened awareness, having a most powerful effect on the people involved. This causes a reactivation of our cellular memory banks. There's a stirring deep inside, a hint of remembrance of something long forgotten.”*

    On this November 11th at 11:00 A.M., we give that symbolic meaning, homage, lest we forget, as some 30-thousand people gather among our Canadian soldiers around the War Memorial in Ottawa’s epicentre on Elgin Street. The sun shines brightly blanketing us with its warmth masking what cannot be unnoticed as a chill in the air.

    Regardless if that cold is brought on by fall’s brisk wind or the solemnity of the ceremony, in a poignant moment of silence we pay tribute to the men, women and dog, who served and are currently serving in the Army, Air Force, and Navy to protect our freedoms.

    It is in that silence one has to wonder what their thoughts carry. Are they catapulted back in time to the bloodshed, the massive graves left behind, the constant harsh explosions burning and ringing in their ears, the smoke of artillery blinding them to safety? Is it sadness? Is it respect? Is it honour?

    A canon fires its tribute, breaking the silence and the Veterans’ haunting thoughts, or so we surmise, only to be filled with the droning notes of the Scottish bagpipes. Canada’s snowbirds rip through the skies overhead with precision and force in an air salute. The trumpet sounds out its so familiar call to these war veterans.

    The families, sisters, brothers, mothers, fathers, and children who died or were wounded in the line of duty are honoured in a gesture of tradition, the laying of the wreaths. We look around, they stand tall, but the deep respect and sorrow pushes through their courageous stance and tears well in their honest stares.

    We cannot forget, the Canadian flag blowing in the wind, and our song reminds us, why they sacrificed so much: “our true north strong and free.”
    *Global Physics Inc.

    -By Caroline Redekopp, Sales Manager  - FIT TRACKING SOLUTIONS

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