Wednesday, November 7, 2007

A time to remember.....and playoff football.

This weekend marks Remembrance day. Both of my grandfathers were in the Military, along with me and my mother.

With all of the stuff going on these days, it's hard for people to remember the older vets. I think I have shown my displeasure in the past when people only consider these newer soldiers "heros."
I think of the bad situations the old vets faces, the second rate equipment, the sub par food and shelters these guy had to endure.
I don't doubt that today's soldiers have rough conditions, but they also have better equipment as well. Not to mention the better support they get when they finish their tour. I only wish they would get more counselling, as a lot of these guys/gals suffer some serious post traumatic stress disorders.

On a lighter note, this weekend also marks the start of the CFL playoffs. My Blue Bombers are facing the Montreal Alouettes in the Eastern division semi-final. Ali will be escorting me on that day, so I forewarned her that I will be vocal. This is the best time of the year for football.

My back is slowly getting better. I'm going to physiotherapy twice a week, and it's helping, but I suffered a setback yesterday. My physiotherapist was checking my hip strength, and aggravated the Sciatic nerve in my left leg. I was in a lot of pain for the rest of the night, and was kind of pouting a little bit. It just gets frustrating sometimes when you can't seem to find a comfortable position. I'm proud to say though, I haven't missed a day of work because of this.
That also makes me a little bitter, when I have some co-workers who call in sick because they have a sore back or a sore shoulder. I say free massage therapy for all health care workers.
Feel free to sign my petition.....

So, remember to pause on Sunday at 11:11 a.m. and remember to give thanks to the brave men and women who are out doing our dirty work, and helping those who need it most.

2 comments:

Rock Chef said...

I always give old soldiers a lot of respect, and love chatting with them. Last year I had a really good chat with a para who had been in the first wave at Arnhem and had been surrounded in the town waiting for help that never came. Of course, most of his friends did not make it.

Glad the back is mending - I get sciatica from time to time (in fact it is twinging as I type!), not nice!

cmacc said...

Speaking of the older vet supplies, when i worked at SIR I had an older gentleman come in and look for a jacket (he wound up in the North Face section, not sure how) and we started chatting, or rather, I started listening. He told me about how the buttons on his military jacket were a form of hardened pasta that, should he be separated from his troop or in a survival situation, he could eat his buttons. He kept talking and ended up weeping. He seemed happy to have someone to talk to. I was happy to oblige. I have no idea if the whole pasta as button thing was true, but whatever.