Keep the Poppy On Featured on CityTV International

Amber MacArthur, host of a segment called World Wide Web on Toronto's City-TV, featured my campaign to use the Internet to encourage people to keep their poppies on well after November 11th.

You can view the one-minute piece by clicking here.

The Day After

According to the Dominion Institute, most Canadians (53%) are not likely to attend a formal Remembrance Day service this year. Click here to read more about this survey.

Because Remembrance Day fell on Saturday this year and I'm always at church on Saturdays, I commemorated Remembrance Day in a house of worship.

It was a lovely day. When I walked into the foyer, alot of people were wearing a red poppy on to the left side of their dresses, shirts and jackets.

Just before 11am, one of the congregation members stood up and recounted the story of one man who fought in the World War 2. He was one of the few who belonged to my denomination who participated in the war as a solider. It was a fascinating tale and although he has since passed on, his wife is still alive today.

At exactly 11am, we took a moment of silence for one minute. I was amazed that with the number of children in the sanctuary, they were all quiet as well. I prayed at that time, thanking God for allowing me to be born in a free country. I thanked Him for giving some in my country the courage to leave their families and go to far off places to fight for peace. I also prayed that we'll finally see the war to end all wars.

One radio host said it best on one of the stations I was listening to on my way home:

"Canada may not be the best country in the world, but it sure is better than alot of places I see on the news."

I'm still wearing my poppy and will continue to do so as long as I can. If you want to join me in this effort, add your name to the wiki by clicking here.

Technorati: remembrance day, november 11, poppy, veterans day

Remembrance Day a National Holiday?

My mother and I were chatting this morning about Remembrance Day. She was excited about some idea she came up with.

"Leesa, why don't use this campaign of yours to push for a national holiday for our vets? That way, we can honour them properly."

What an awesome idea and a great way to get people who are wearing their poppies after November 11th to really fight for a cause.

Technorati: remembrance day, november 11, poppy, veterans day, red poppy, canada, national holiday

Off our jackets the poppies blow

Seems like I'm not the only one losing dozens of poppies each year. The Toronto Star did a story on just this problem. Read it here.

White Poppies Are A Mockery

(**groan**)

I heard on the news last night that a store in Edmonton, Alberta is selling white poppies. White poppies are said to represent the quest for peace.

This is ridiculous. Red poppies are designed to help us remember those who lost their lives during war, it doesn't represent support for war. In my mind, white poppies have no place on anyone's lapel as we approach Remembrance Day.

Choose a different day to celebrate peace. But choosing to use Remembrance Day to commemorate peace using a white poppy is a mockery.

Technorati: remembrance day, november 11, veterans day, armistice day, red poppy, white poppy, canada