Suddenly it is November. The brilliant fall colours are slowly yielding to stark grey skeletons and crinkly brown leaves. The days are shortening. The threat of winter is coming closer and closer. The cycle of life. The eternal wind, the wind that can be warm and soft or violent and cold, continues to blow. It is cooling down, the summer is now a distant memory. Yes, November is definitely here.
Many people refer to November as “the gloomy month.” In many ways it is. There seems to be far more grey days than sunny days in November. Many people dread winter and see November as the month when bad weather begins. Actually, November is a very variable month. There can be summer-like conditions or blizzards, at least in Ontario. November brings with it many memories or the summer.
In fact, it is a month with no Canadian holidays other than Remembrance Day. What a fitting month for such a day. A time when nostalgia is in the air and people are between Halloween and Christmas. It is a sad day, a serious day, a cold day. All the Remembrance days I can remember have been cold and dreary. I can remember standing in the bone-chilling wind as the veterans make their speeches. Their words seem to be carried away into eternity with the howling wind. This is pathetic fallacy at its best. The emotions of the day match the weather patterns.
I am sure all of us have seen a poppy that has fallen off the coat of a stranger. It blows about in the street with the leaves and evokes an overwhelming feeling in me. It symbolizes the fact that the great accomplishments of our soldiers need to be respected because otherwise they won’t last.
This year I have noticed that many more people than usual are wearing poppies on campus. I always look up to people who do this. It shows that they care, that they don’t want to forget, that they appreciate the freedom of Canada. When I see the diverse people in Canada all wearing poppies, I feel that my country is united. The French, the English, the Natives, and all the minorities in all the provinces all have members who wear the poppy. In such a country lacking national identity, this is a comforting sign.
I was a little upset to hear that people on planes have been forced to remove their poppies this week. The rationale is that the pin can be used as a weapon. How can a symbol of peace and unity be treated as a weapon. This is just going too far.
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