Observing
some sad anniversaries
by
Robert LaFrance
One morning last week I was talking
about nutrition to, strangely enough, a nutritionist, and she asked me what I
usually had for breakfast. I said that most mornings I had porridge. “You
should have some acid with that,” she said.
I grew up in the 1960s, and her
words took me back to the days when, at any given time, half my friends were on
the Planet Zortok and the other half were on their way back from there, so the
words from this 26-year-old nutritionist in the year 2014 took me aback.
She must have seen the look on my
face, and hastily added: “I mean blueberries or apple slices on your porridge
which, by the way is an excellent food.” At that moment I resolved to stop
eating porridge or any other crop that might be construed as good for me. Since
that day I have had a smidgen of scotch and a Twinkie for breakfast. Nothing
spoils a good meal more than someone saying it’s healthy. I boycotted broccoli
in 1976, cabbage in 1981.
Watching the TV news last evening
about 11:00, I wondered aloud at the weirdness of our beloved Prime Minister
emerging from an Inuit structure wearing a parka and commenting on events in
the Middle East where it’s about +3475ºC.
(I should note that I wrote that
previous sentence the way I did to make the language mavens pay attention. I
know an Inuit structure cannot fit into a parka.)
The news report went back and forth
between the Negev Desert and Mr. Harper, who must have been in Resolute Bay or
even farther north because his breath was all steamy, which could have meant he
was touring a walk-in freezer.
He asked a question of one of his
Inuit companions and he reminded me of Shad Diploch, who was in grades 8 to 10
with me. Shad was one of these students who stand up and ask intelligent
sounding questions, except that, even as they asked, we all knew that he knew
the answer already. He wanted to impress the teacher that he, Shad, was paying
attention. Meanwhile, he was impressing his classmates that he was a tool, and
I don’t mean an pair of adjustable pliers.
********************
Exactly 75 years ago today Britain
declared war on Germany which had attacked Poland two days before. A week later
Canada also declared war on Germany. A mere two years and three months later,
the U.S. declared war on Japan, and Germany declared war on the U.S.
The reason I mention all this is not
to observe anniversaries, but to remind us all that there’s a guy in Russia who
wishes he could emulate the Austrian painter who pretty much owned Europe by
1943.
World War II has been called “The
Last Good War” which is a little like saying that anchovies are good on pizzas.
It just ain’t so. I know some of the readers like anchovies, but you’ve
obviously been misled by your taste buds who can be renegades at times.
We Canadians tend to brag about how
well we conducted ourselves during World War II, but I don’t know that we
should. Our soldiers, sailors and airmen were the very best, as were the people
working hard back home, but we needn’t brag too much about our politicians.
They were the ones who allowed only a few thousand jews to come here and escape
99% certain death in Germany and in German-held areas while Hitler, Eichmann,
Goebbels and the other jolly-boys were killing six million jews.
Prime Minister MacKenzie King knew
it too.
Then there was the internment of
Japanese citizens (of Canada) and the deporting of many to Japan, a place they
probably didn’t want to be, especially in August 1945. Meanwhile residential
schools and mistreatment of First Nations people was going on here as always,
and war profiteers were profiting as always. It is said that many Canadian
companies continuing selling their products to Germany even though Germans were
killing our folks by the thousands.
The reason I mention all this is
that I want to say THANK YOU to all those who gave their health, happiness and
lives in our wars including Afghanistan. Every year, as November 11 approaches,
people are reminded of all this, but folks, I want you to know that every day I
think of your sacrifices.
-end-
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