The Red Poppy Experiment

Keep the Poppy On Featured on CityTV International

2006-11-12T15:01:00.000-08:00

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

2006-11-12T14:39:00.000-08:00

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?

2006-11-10T07:55:00.000-08:00

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

2006-11-10T07:48:00.000-08:00

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

2006-11-09T05:17:00.000-08:00

(**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

The Lost Poppy - Again

2006-10-30T08:18:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, I bought a poppy from a drug store. Dropped in a loonie, picked up my poppy. Between there and my dad's house, I lost the darn thing. While at Tim's getting a decaf double double, I was able to purchase another.

I know that our Vets aren't treated well by our government and are hard up for cash, but man, making money off a poorly designed poppy isn't the way to go.

This is what happened to me months ago and it was the reason why I stopped my campaign to wear my red poppy all year round. I was going through 5 or 6 a month.

So, the long pin needs to be replaced. What are some suggestion you have to improve the design of the red poppy so it actually stays on?

Keep the Poppy On Campaign

2006-10-30T08:06:00.000-08:00

I just started a wiki to encourage people to join me in wearing their poppy beyond November 11th. Please help me by spreading the word to as many people as you know.

In the coming days, you'll be able to download banners and buttons to put on your blog, website and to include in email messages. Check here for updates.

Honour Anthony Boneca who lost his life in battle

2006-07-09T14:38:00.000-07:00

Corporal Anthony Joseph Boneca lost his life in battle in Afghanistan the morning of July 9th. He was to be home in 3-weeks. Pray for his parents at this time as Anthony was their only child.

This is why we don't need one day out of the year to honour our fallen soliders. Instead, let's choose to honour our soliders who give their lives to protect Canadian freedoms and bring those freedoms to those who struggle to obtain them on their own.

Kitty with poppies

2006-01-18T10:42:00.000-08:00

Heaven forbid. What will they think of next?

The dude with the pimply face

2006-01-18T10:29:00.000-08:00

Okay, now that I'm in a red poppy mood again, I'll tell you about the chat I had with a teenaged kid on the subway way back on December 13th.

I'm sitting there, minding my own business, when this kid starts staring at me. You know when someone's staring at you, you can feel their eyes boring a hole into your head.

So, I'm sitting there and I glance up at the kid. He looked no more than 16, when he said to me, "Dude, you're still wearing your poppy."

"Yup, I know," I say.

"Why?"

"Well, I choose to remember all year 'round. That's why I wear my poppy."

There was a pause, a pregnant silence. The kid looked away, raised his eyebrow, then looked back at me.

In a voice that's reminiscent of Napoleon Dynamite, the kid says:

"Dude, just carry a flag."

I looked at him. He looked at me. I looked at him looking at me. He looked at me looking at him.

I had nothing to say. Next stop was mine anyways, so I just stood up and waiting in the doors until the train came to a stop. When the doors flew open, I jumped out with the kid's last words replaying in my mind.

"Dude, just carry a flag."
"Dude, just carry a flag."
"Dude, just carry a flag."

As I was going up the escalator to street level, I snapped my fingers because I just thought of the perfect comeback.

"Well, a flag's too big, dude."

I smiled at myself, thinking that was an awesome comeback. But alas, the best comeback's are always thought of after you've removed yourself from the situation. And by then, it's just too late.

So the pimply-faced dude actually got the last word. And I still wear my red poppy.

Found another one - guess where?

2006-01-18T10:19:00.000-08:00

I found another poppy. This time, I stumbled across it behind my side table. I typically don't move things around in my bedroom, but recently had to when I saw how big the dust bunnies were.

I used my thigh to push the side table a bit and there on the floor was a poppy. Now, it looked almost white because of all the dust. Took me awhile to brush it off. However, I now have a new poppy to pin on my lapel.

This reminds me of a story that I haven't shared as yet. Read above.

Lost it - AGAIN

2005-12-15T20:18:00.000-08:00

Geez Louise!

I lost my poppy again. It seems like every time I walk into a gym to officiate a basketball game, it slips off. I lost my first poppy in a school gym. Took my coat off and when I put it back on again after the 3-hour game, it was gone.

Bummer.

I have to call a local legion or call Veteran Affairs and see if I can get a whole box of them. Seems like I go through a poppy every 4 or 5 days, so I need an ample supply.

Or maybe, someone is following me around and is trying to thwart my efforts by stealing my poppy when I'm not looking. Hmmmm....a red poppy thief! It's a conspiracy.

BTW, remind me to tell you about my conversation with the pimply-faced dude on the transit two-days ago. Our conversation was just classic and it was all about the poppy.

Got a new one!

2005-12-11T11:05:00.000-08:00

I went to a games night at my friend's house last night. As I was playing with her daughter and a couple of the other kids who were there, I pranced by a container that held a poppy, along with other junk, such as bobby pins, pennies and elastic bands.

I stopped dead in my tracks.

I picked up the poppy as if it were a delicate flower and in a hushed tone, I turned to my friend and said:

"Can I have this?"

She gave me a strange look, I guess wondering why I was treating the poppy so reverently.

"Yeah, go ahead."

I immediately told the kids to bug off, then I bolted towards the coat closet and pinned the poppy on my collar.

I'm back in business kids!

Almost lifted one from Sturgeon Falls

2005-12-09T06:05:00.000-08:00

Last weekend, I was in Sturgeon Falls at a high school (30-minutes north of North Bay). Nice town and everyone's fiercely Franco-Ontarian. Meaning that their first language is french, which is weird living in Ontario.

At this high school while in the physical education office, I saw a red poppy stuck to a bulletin board. For just a split second, I thought about lifting it (a more elegant way to say steal). I looked at it and looked at it and was wrestling with my desire to have a red poppy again and the fact that it's wrong to steal.

After a few seconds, I decided not to take what isn't mine. What stopped me? One, I'm a Christian. Second, I thought of karma (watch one of my favourite shows My Name Is Earl to see what I mean). Third, there was a photo of happy children stuck on the bulletin board right beside the poppy. After seeing their smiling faces, I knew that lifting it would be wrong.

So, I tearfully said goodbye to the poppy and left the phys ed office. I'll get my replacement poppy some other way.

I lost my poppy

2005-11-28T16:29:00.000-08:00

Egad! I lost my poppy today. It was on my collar and now it's gone. Where the heck am I going to get a new one now that it's not the week leading up to Remembrance Day? My experiment is at a standstill until I can find a new one.

3 Reasons to Wear My Red Poppy Year Round

2005-11-25T10:34:00.000-08:00

Listen to my 1-minute audio post where I outline the 3 reasons why wearing a red poppy year round is important to all of us.

What is this about?

2005-11-25T10:02:00.000-08:00

I have decided to wear a red poppy on my jacket and clothing all year round. I plan to update this blog from time to time with all the clever and interesting comments I receive about wearing my red poppy outside of the week leading up to Remembrance Day. This should be fun.