Lest we forget

Remembrance Day today! Odd that it's never really meant too much to me, because it should mean something to all of us, shouldn't it? I listened to Stuart McLean yesterday. Sometimes I'm lucky enough to be in the car when he's doing his Vinyl Cafe on CBC. What a treat! For the first time, I felt Remembrance Day, I felt the lives of all of those who have believed in something with all of their heart, fought for something and paid the ultimate price - their lives.

Mr. McLean ... yes, I'm going to call him Mr. McLean, because I have come to respect this sincere, heartfelt human being ... talked about a man named George Lawrence. George Lawrence, Mr. McLean informed, was the last Canadian soldier killed in World War II. George was 24 years old when he was conscripted into the army, and he was 25 years old when he died. He died two minutes before the Armistice was signed that day. I chose this Remembrance Day to remember George Lawrence, to remember the life he sacrificed for all of us.

We take so much for granted every single day, and most of us know that. But George Lawrence, we shouldn't take for granted. George gave up all the simple things that we enjoy. He relinquished his right to have his own family, to enjoy a homecooked meal, to feel rain on his face, to watch the first snowfall. I believe (or I certainly wish) that I will remember George Lawrence every single Remembrance Day for the rest of my time on this earth. He symbolizes something for me. In a world where every other story on the radio is tragic, sad, confusing, frightening, I want to remember the George Lawrences.

And the Stuart McLeans!!! You make a difference, Mr. McLean, in the lives of so many, I'm sure, and you certainly do make and have made a difference in mine. Thank you for that.