Remembrance/Veterans Day 2019
Today I remember the peacemakers and healers. I don't celebrate war and I don't remember the warbringers or their pawns.
My grandfather was a medic for Canada in WWII. After saving many lives, he was sent home with TB to die. He pulled through, had my mother and her siblings, and peacefully lived out his life in service of his fellow man, working and volunteering until his death.
He was a great man. Not 'great' as in large, or famous, or decorated, or rich. 'Great' as in consistent, generous, principled, hardworking, honest, loyal. He had integrity, he was softspoken, he was skilled and intelligent, he was humble and genuine. If I end up half the man he was, I'll consider that an accomplishment. They don't make them like that anymore.
He wasn't a man of possessions, and I didn't get much of what little he had, but I did get this shovel and some of his other old wood-handled garden tools. They're banged up and weathered, but if I take care of them they'll last another 2 generations. I consider this a symbol of how he lived his life and his dedication to peaceful endeavors like growing plants. I intend to utilize these tools of peace here in the garden at my new home, early next spring!
Today, I celebrate and remember him - and those like him - who work toward peace, who heal, who avoid aggression, who protect the weak. The underdogs, the freedom-fighters, the oppressed. Activists, peacekeepers, caregivers, and everyone else who detests violence and suffering, everyone who loves peace, everyone who longs for an end to war.
"I'm talking about genuine peace, the kind of peace that makes life on Earth worth living, the kind that enables men and nations to grow, to hope, and build a better life for their children. Not merely peace for Americans, but peace for ALL men and women. Not merely peace in our time, but peace for ALL time." - President of the United States of America, John Kennedy
New indoor garden!
Today is the perfect day to set up (and announce) a brand new indoor garden patch, for growing cannabis to use as medicine!
There's my trusty light fixture, in a dedicated corner of my new place, ready for the first crop in this new location - stay tuned for my announcement of the strain, and see it germinate!
That light fixture is another item of my grandfather's I ended up getting. My father built it for him years ago, to help him overcome the winter blues. I already beat my depression (thanks to cannabis!) so I'm putting the lamp to better use - growing cannabis! The medicine from this indoor patch will treat my wife @MediKatie's chronic pain and neurological conditions, which she obtained as a child being treated with radiation and surgery for cancer in her spine.
I like to think Grampa would be proud of me if he could see me today. I wonder what he'd think, to know he is a great-grandfather... again!? He was definitely a man who valued his family. I miss him today, and every day.
Peace.
DRutter
Excelentes palabras hermanito @drutter lo siento por la enfermedad de su padre. Tiempo si hablar con usted hermanito espero que se encuentre bien saludos de Margarita, Venezuela. :)
Gracias hermanita. Le agradezco su atención. Espero que estés bien.
Use of the subjunctive, nice! Your Spanish is improving, @Drutter :)
Getting the garden back up is exciting!! It reminds me of good times and old routines. Cannabis sure does help with the winter blues, but they do hit hard! I should remember to put myself under the grow light, too. Speaking of old routines, maybe I should make videos again, and this time put them on 3speak.
I'm glad you got that pic of your grandpa up on the blockchian, it's a good one. He sounds like a great man, I wish I (and our son) could have met him. I'm not sure what to think about Remembrance day, we definitely shouldn't celebrate war, but the Canadian culture/anything-white-bashing is really ramping up and getting annoying. It's sad to think in the near future, people like him won't even be allowed to look fondly on just for his skin colour, being male and where he came from.
Anyway, this fall season, I'm remembering where we were exactly one, two, and three, four, and even five years ago from this day, and thankful for how far we've made it. We've been through a lot together.
We like your definition of what it means to be great, if more people tried to live up to that definition instead of aspiring for titles and what not, the world would be a better place. You would make your Grandpa proud and he lives on in you and in your sons.
Your new garden looks great on a hard wood floor, can't wait for updates! :)