Far-called our navies melt away—
On dune and headland sinks the fire—
Lo, all our pomp of yesterday
Is one with Nineveh and Tyre!
Judge of the Nations, spare us yet,
Lest we forget—lest we forget![i]

The 11^th of November is Memorial Day throughout much of the world. It reminds us of the terrible events of conflicts and wars. They, in turn, remind us of those lost and those who served. Birthdays remind us of our friends and family.  On occasions they are close enough to combine. Such is this story. While true, the details may be misplaced or out of order. I make no apologies.  I, certainly, have a well-worn memory. But, still “We recall without repining, all the heat of bygone noon!”

Today is my brother’s ninetieth. Good for him. While people are living longer, he is above the norm. “Congratulations John and may you live to hear your hundredth”. Please note I said ‘hear’ because he is blind but this doesn’t deter him from living. He has the sharpest mind which allows him to have a fine conversation. And on occasion somewhat more than fine.

John worked in AB’s (Anderson and Boyce. An engineering firm in a suburb of Motherwell in Scotland that manufactured among other things, coal-cutting machines.) When the Second WW broke out in 1939 he was finishing his apprentice term of five years. All engineers at AB’s were exempt from military call-up or conscription.  However, they could volunteer for service if so inclined. Haggs Reid worked in AB’s beside John and he volunteered for naval service. Some months later John volunteered too. And he too volunteered for the Royal Navy. Haggs was sent to Rossyth and John to Porstmouth for their preliminary training. As qualified engineers they were given officer status immediately. I do not know who and how their locations were decided but - but for the toss of a coin ‘there go I’. One went East and one went South.

After his induction to naval regulations, John was sent to Mombasa on the west coast of Africa a port that served the whole of Kenya. He went in a large troop ship as a part of a team of naval repairmen to the dockyards. This base served the whole of the Indian ocean. Shortly thereafter, his team was needed in Alexandria the major port for Egypt. They sailed up the Red Sea to the port of Suez at the south end of the canal. From there via railway to Alexandria, no luxury hotels in wartime, a tent city with troops for the Libya campaign . Following that stint, they were sent up the Persian Gulf to the island of Bahrain, then over to India and across to Sri Lanka (Ceylon in those days). Their posting was to the East Coast of Sri Lanka at Trincomalee. The harbor here was a huge lake with a small easily defended opening  into the ocean.  John remained in Ceylon for approximately six months when he was shipped back to Mombasa once more. Fortunately this repair crew never saw any hostile action. Finally after two years they were all shipped back to Portsmouth, then to Leith on the Firth of Forth where he was seconded to a minesweeper for duty on the North Sea. Billeted in this port, he managed many short weekend passes to our home in Motherwell. Minesweeping was a hazardous duty since they had to cut the mines anchor rode. When the mine floated to the surface, the crew took turns shooting at the activating cones on the mines thus blowing them to pieces. This assignment terminated  John‘s service in the Royal Navy. Demobbed they called it!

Haggs Reid was visiting us after his induction. I can see him yet, sitting on one of the kitchen chairs in his full naval uniform wearing his skipped cap, white shirt and dark tie. He had fair hair and a healthy ruddy complexion which emphasized his white regular teeth. “I’m off to Murmansk tomorrow,” he said. We never saw him again but we learned later that the “Murmansk Run” was the most dangerous assignment of WW11 naval encounters.

When you think of these two sailors, you realize that somewhere a clerk was sitting at a desk and had a list of names before him. His job was to fill vacancies in crews. A toss of a coin! Of the thousands and thousands of vacant wartime positions to fill, your future was a small pen mark on a list! The short or long straw.

As a young boy of twelve, I adored my brother and still enjoy his company with brotherly love and respect. And yes, we will chat once more when we visit with him this coming holiday season.

You, too, can imagine that this story would never have been written if the pencil or pen ticks had been reversed.

Tjh ©

14-11-11

Culvert shadows and New York tents                            

So here’s the give
And the let live 

Nonsensical ethical lexicons, diaries, junk heaps,
Cats that ate bats with whimsical latte’s force.

Popping tubes, open agendas for scraping sky scrapers and dusting ol’ Vacuum tubes.

Haunting the walkabouts, the roundabouts, the row boat horizon viewers on
Chem trails… detectives like Sherlockian Cats in yer’ hat yodeling up the sky pies.

At best it twist’ ter like words ner’ sister told on the old cat by you, telling you to make stew, and so

Cash M’cann on the American plan said the French Fried the plan and Solzhenitsyn or Sarkozy or some other salve or some other Japan took the stand.

Yakker’ diddle did a little ditty on de weeper’s woppin’ and hoppin’ Mary Poppin got
Gidgetin’s light just in enough in time for a ticket on the Night Train.

And so Cat man’ do and sleight time in Track told the 49’ junction and the Tuxedo top hat and

Rain brought the rain man down out of his shack, for the
Manufactured Line or so he says from a large Knapsack…saying,

Pardon me boys it’s the Whopper Fellas last night mix, the Last Waltz trick,
The Captain of the Bungalow does Bungle in the Jungle…
the Big Tent shines African love, and the kids come and get in their kicks’

In New York, in London, in Cairo, in Montreal, in bedlam, under desert stars, on entertainment tonight, haunting,

An that’s all here and there,
I swear.
And would the sad faced colonel be bloody enough for the madness
I swear.

Haunted by it all.

Don Law                                                                7-11-11

The (Digital) Winds Of Change Are In The Air…

For me the verdict is still out on whether social media networks like Twitter and Facebook have any real value in modern society.  Providing details on the most mundane aspects of life and posting them for the entire world to see to me seems at best… trivial.  Clicking on “Trending” links with subject matters such as how many people are discussing the latest ‘dreadful’ outfit being worn by one of Hollywood’s top starlets is not only boring but is an insult to my intelligence.  Then there are the more potentially sinister aspects, like the automatic face recognition software utilized by the likes of Facebook – which uploads and cross-references the results with organizations that are not necessarily for the common good.  Sigh… Privacy is a thing of the past.

It almost makes one long for a chisel and stone, or at least a quill and parchment paper…

But there are positive aspects to these types of communication networks!  We have seen over recent months numerous examples of how these tools can be used to affect positive change.  One man in Egypt says, “Enough is enough” and lights himself on fire; video and text submissions are instantly uploaded… and it sets the whole Middle East ABLAZE!  These correspondences were then able to be instantly viewed around the globe thus becoming a catalyst for other good folk to get organized and FINALLY stand up for themselves and the planet they love.

Consider what is happening with the latest ‘Occupy Wall Street’ movement.  There are no clear ‘leaders’ just a whole lot of people behaving as one collective mind.  If they have not already realized it – I believe they will soon understand just how powerful they are through solidarity.  How did this latest permutation occur?  As I understand it one man said, “Enough is enough” and put a message out on his social media accounts – requesting that other concerned souls should join him to march on Wall Street.  This carried a spark that started fires in the likes of Chicago, Los Angeles, Rome and Venice - and it is only a matter of time when the whole world is ablaze with people who peacefully stand up and collectively say – WE WANT A DIFFERENT WORLD!  We are all ONE!

What will be interesting to see is what happens if George W. Bush has the courage to show up for the summit meeting in Surrey, BC on the 20^th of October.  Will our PM step up to the plate and act upon the warrant for arrest that has been issued by Amnesty International to make the former President of the United States stand trial for war crimes?  The only way that it will happen is if WE the PEOPLE demand that he and all other takers stand before a court of their peers and that justice be served (maybe someone could perform a citizen’s arrest).  These handful of abusers need to see the whites of the eyes of the billions of earth inhabitants they have harmed and beg for mercy and forgiveness for the atrocities they have committed.  We the people also need to apologize for our indifference and complacency and take a more active role in shaping the world in which we live.  If everyone took a more proactive approach - then imbalances of power would not exist and we would live in a truly democratic society.  Do you think this is a mere pipedream?  Just think about how the users of Facebook, Wiki, Avaaz and Youtube have affected change in the world in just the last 12 months.  There is MAGIC in the world and that magic is US!!! 

My wish is that POSITIVITY goes VIRAL!  I better go log in… J

“ONE person speaking up makes MORE NOISE than a thousand who are SILENT!”  Thom Harnett    

Kindness

I grew up religious!  From a ripe young age I was taught about being good to the poor and to the sick, the elderly and the fatherless.  I was reminded constantly about the story of the ‘Good Samaritan’ – some dude who found another dude lying in the street and helped him back onto his feet.  Then there was the one about there being no greater love than that of laying down one’s life for his/her friends…  There have been numerous examples of how to give one’s power away to others – in order to find favor with the Big Eye in the Sky.

Now, don’t get me wrong - it’s not that I am against being good to others.  Quite the contrary!  It’s just that I believe that we should be clearer about the motivations behind our charitable acts.  Even the ‘good book’ talks about doing unto others as you would have them do unto you; or love others as you love yourself.  To me it is very clear even in these passages that the message implied is that we must love OURSELVES first!

But how many of us were actually taught to love ourselves?  We’ve been taught to love God and country.  We’ve been taught to love our family or our team be it a sports organization, company, political party or any other form of religion.  But what happens when we grow up in a household of abuse?  What happens if our favorite political/religious leader turns out to be a complete fraud? 

Let’s face it – virtually ALL of our deities (small ‘d’ or capital ‘D’) are abusive parents.  Any structure that portrays itself one way, but behaves incongruently with that portrayal is an abusive structure.  Are we exercising kindness when we continue to support situations that are clearly against the common good?  Like viewing the landscape below when cruising at 30,000 feet - if we could only rise above our various structures – and begin to see the whole dynamic and beautiful system which is our world – then maybe we could collectively see a bigger picture.  From this increased perspective, if we were to address all of the challenges we face with the following response:   what is in HIGHEST kindness or best interest – for ALL inhabitants of the earth – then maybe we would make different choices!?

Recently, I read a bumper sticker that brought a glint to my eye:  “RELIGION is what keeps POOR people from killing RICH people!”  In my opinion until we the people begin to grasp this truth (and in this writer’s opinion ANY structure where a small group of individuals control many is a religion) – then nothing is going to change.   But how do we the people realistically take back our power and exercise highest kindness to ourselves and to our planet???  Face it even if we want to do something and participate in protest rallies etc. – most of us just don’t want to rock the boat, because our actions could have a direct effect on the lives of our loved ones.  Protesting via violence or by refusing to pay taxes/mortgages etc.  – could just end up putting us in jail or at least kicking us onto the street.

So how does one protect the lives of their loved ones in the short-term, but still take positive REAL action to show HIGHEST KINDNESS for the collective Earth Family of which we are all a part???  It’s been a quandary for me for much of my existence.  In my opinion it comes down to technology!  Yup, the very thing that you are sitting at in order to view this writing – because of its connection to a vast global network of other computers owned by other concerned earth-citizens can be an incredible force for change.  Please do yourself and the collective a favor and check out:  www.avaaz.org  for in this writer’s opinion it is a wonderful way to exercise… on a planetary level – HIGHEST KINDNESS for all! 

Jeff Pilsner ©   15-6-11