Skip to main content

The Eleventh Hour of the Eleventh Day of the Eleventh Month. . .


Today, thoughts turn to my maternal grandfather David Lewis Stokes, his brothers (Baxter and Jackson), and his brother-in-laws (Bob, Sydney, and Charlie). Amazingly, all six of them served, in one way or another, during the Second World War of 1939-45 and somehow managed to make it home relatively unscathed. So too did the only First World War veteran I ever met, Harrison Terrell, a Pennsylvania Quaker no less, who answered the call in 1917 and ended up in the trenches of northern France. They are all gone now, but I knew each of them well and think about them often. . . well, all the time really. It's November 11th everyone, formerly known as Armistice Day, now called Veterans' Day here in the United States. Please take a quiet moment to remember those who have served in previous and present conflicts around the world.

Comments

Bluebear Jeff said…
In Canada it is known as "Remembrance Day" . . . and almost everyone I've seen in the past week or so has been wearing a poppy.


-- Jeff
A J said…
The last of Britain's WW1 veterans passed away this year. We owe all those who fell in both wars so much. We will remember them.

Popular posts from this blog

Presenting the Anspach-Bayreuth Kuirassiere!!!

Here they are, with the rearmost nine figures still drying, three squadrons of the Anspach-Bayreuth Kuirassiere, now in the service of the Grand Duchy of Stollen. And now, it's onto that artillery!

Keepin' an Eye on the World Going By My Window . .

'The Nap at the Palace' by Jose Triado Mayol N ot much in the way of hobby-related activity happening here in the Grand Duchy lately.  Sigh.  And no surprise there really since there are only so many hours in the day, only so much mental and physical energy to spare, and you sometimes simply just have to give in and know when to say, um, "When!"  A glass of wine and/or evening yoga by the hearth with the Grand Duchess (who has practiced for over 20 years), and then off into la-la land.  Zzzzzzzzz.   More immediately, I'm recovering, mentally speaking, from a grueling Friday in which I was involved with three (online) conference sessions, one right after the other, followed by a 90-minute meeting at the end of the day. Also virtual. My brain has been mush ever since, so an easy, completely unproductive Saturday watching intermittent snow fall outside (no accumulation however) and drinking coffee while the visiting handymen completed some repair work down h...

Having a "No Day". . .

  F or the almost 20 years that she lived in Mexico, one of my late mother's Irish friends frequently mentioned having a "No Day."  A day with no social obligations, chores, tasks, or other work that interfered with whatever personal interests took one's fancy on the day in question. Since today -- a gray and chilly Saturday -- is Mom's birthday, the Grand Duchess is out with friends, and the Young Master is ensconced on the sofa in the TV room with a cold, yours truly is taking his own such No Day.  I think Mom would approve of my decision to make the world go away, as the old Eddie Arnold song intoned, even if only for a little while. So, I will spend Saturday afternoon focused on that first squadron and small regimental staff of Eureka Saxon cuirassiers.  These have stood waiting  untouched over on the painting table for almost three weeks while we skied and otherwise gadded about with snowy, winter outdoor activities. I hope to share a painting update Sunday...