Honour and Privilege

It was a difficult few minutes around 8:10 this morning when the Doc and Woody Show aired a montage of listener messages to our veterans on this solemn morning.

As we ran the underscore music and launched the 2 and a half minute tribute that Doc assembled (I had not heard this yet), it quickly became evident that this was not the hackneyed "thank a vet" posture but, rather, a more personal reflection.

Callers spoke of their fathers and grandfathers, children read poems and recited songs they had learned and young and old alike delivered their heartfelt appreciation for those who paid the ultimate price - who made the ultimate sacrifice for the ultimate purpose: Freedom and democracy. And to those that returned, the words were direct; thank you for your bravery, for your service... and for coming home.

Yesterday, Randall Moore made the trip to Alta Vista station with hundreds of other grateful Canadians to greet the Veteran's Train which made the trek from Halifax to participate in the national ceremonies this morning in Ottawa. Randall spoke of the pride and emotion experienced by everyone in attendance. Young children asked for autographs and adults fought back tears as they extended their arms to deliver one of the most grateful handshakes they would share in their lifetimes. And the veterans. In this, the year of the veteran, they marveled at and humbly accepted the outpouring of respect and appreciation. Respect and appreciation so richly deserved.

I will know that feeling Randall spoke of in a little more than an hour from now as I and Mrs. Woody attend the Centrepointe ceremonies where my wife will be laying the wreath on behalf of our riding association. Our president, Richard Fromm, would normally perform this duty but is out of town with the passing of his father-in-law. (Our deepest condolences to Karen and the entire family)

As Vice President, my lovely wife, is humbled by what we both regard as an honour and an esteemed privilege to step forward to pay our respects and express our thanks to our most cherished citizens: Our veterans.

Just Cleaning Out The Inbox.....

Ontario Health Minister George Smitherman made a spectacle of himself this week when he called the Ontario Association of Optometrists "a bunch of terrorists". I may not know much about optometrists but I can't think of a single act they could commit that would amount to terrorism... unless they run wrecklessly through the streets burning eye charts and screaming "How many fingers am I holding???"

Metro News' headline of November 7th on Canada's armed forces read: "Big Honking Ship In Plans Of Military".
Well, let's not stop there. We gotta get us some big-ass tanks and a few bitchin' launchers, dude! I mean, if you're gonna protect your peeps......

While trolling Yahoo! for radio prep I came across the headline "Comedian Al Franken Gets Serious About Politics". I thought it was interesting to note that it wasn't found in the Politics or Entertainment sections but, rather, as Odd News. Note to self: Don't get serious about politics!

Harper Lightens The Puck Up!

Stephen Harper appeared in the season premiere or Rick Mercer's Report on CBC last night. It was a parody of a recent Nike Ad with Harper firing hockey pucks at Mercer from a rooftop.

It's the kind of thing we've needed to see in Stephen. It looks good on him.

If you missed it, you can see the video at Rick Mercer's CBC page. You'll also want to watch Rick's rant. Vintage salient Mercer.

Stop The Presses! Something Else To Pin On Harper!

As innocuous as this story is, it's making the rounds. Even the Post and Sun Media picked it up from, who else, Canadian Press. I find the comments to the Globe and Mail particularly interesting and mildly entertaining.

Will this become the Conservatives' "Poppygate" or is it more Liberal "Poppyganda"? It's the burning issue of the day, folks. Drop everything and follow this one.