Remembrance Day – Letter to my grandfather

Grandpa in France

Dear Grandpa Sendell,

I am writing this letter as a Remembrance Day tribute to you and all the others that served our country so unselfishly.

Unfortunately I wasn’t able to talk to you about your experiences in the Great War of 1914-1918. I was too young and not very knowledgeable about such things at the time. I certainly did not appreciate your sacrifice, nor did I have any concept of the conditions in France where you served.

I am now in my early sixties with children and grandchildren of my own. I have researched my family roots including the military side of it. Through my research and readings on your military experience I have come to have a deep connection with your experiences. My only regret is that I can’t speak with you directly about this period of your life. This letter is my attempt to do that in a public way.

I discovered you enlisted in the 3^rd Division of the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) in 1915 to go overseas. You were assigned to the Canadian Army Service Corps within this division. There you drove munitions trucks from the rear areas to the front lines under heavy enemy fire. Now I realize why you were such an excellent driver.

Even though these trips were made under cover of darkness, the enemy could hear the sounds of the truck engines and rained heavy artillery fire down on the roads approaching the frontline trenches. Many of your fellow drivers were killed instantly when shells ignited the explosives in the trucks. The stress of driving under these conditions must have been unbearable.

When I compare your military record with the timeline of battles fought in the Flanders area of France during the time you were serving, it is obvious you experienced most of the brutal encounters of that time. It is fortunate you survived and returned to us here in Canada, so many of your friends and fellow soldiers did not.

Grandpa I value greatly this historical connection you gave our family. We treasure it with tremendous pride. Frankly I and others of my generation wonder how you did it. Your country and King called and you gladly gave up years of your life to serve under dangerous and dreadful conditions.

It’s shocking and sad to realize how young the soldiers were that went to war. I can only imagine what it was really like, but at least now I have a true appreciation for your experience. Bless you and all the others for your service to our country. We will never forget.

Your loving grandson,

Steve B. Davis

Spare the rod, spoil the child…hell no!

Recently my 85 year old mother visited me and my gang. You see I’m a do-it-again dad. We now have a 9 year old son, and twin daughters aged 7. The difference between her generation and mine with regard to child discipline is apparent.

In our house spanking is a definite no no. Children are treated with respect. Sure there is some yelling and fighting but with five individuals including three young ones, there are bound to be conflicts.

Mother gets taut like a spring just watching my active boy have fun. You can sense the urge to step in and bring him to heel. You can cut the tension. Heck he is just being a kid.

Proudly relates this little story to me whenever she visits,

Seems one time when I was a 6 year old kid back in the 1950′s there was I time when I didn’t come when I was called, too busy playing I guess. She came to get me with a flyswatter. She tells how she flicked my ass with it all the way home and boy did that ever make me listen. The point being the next time I was called I came.

Frankly I find this tale a disgusting example of the child discipline of the 1950′s. Talk about lack of respect for a child.
Much as I love my mother I am beginning to realize why I have so much deep seeded anger within my psyche.

Visiting Dealey Plaza

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My entire adult life an eerie fascination has drawn me to the Kennedy Assassination and the events of November 22 – 25, 1963. Over the years I have absorbed everything written on the subject. Now as I wander Dealey Plaza for the first time my brain releases remembrances of that era. I feel at home in a surreal way, not because it is a good place, but rather a familiar one. Memories of the 1960’s and my formative years flood my being.

The first major historical event in my lifetime riveted me at the time and has gripped me since. Historical and political awareness awoke in my young mind over those terrible four days in November 1963.

Forty-six years later like a moth to light, this place attracts me. The Plaza holds no mystery for me. I know every nook and cranny, every conspiracy theory and every person associated with those days.

The Grassy Knoll, the Texas School Book Depository, the Sixth Floor, the Triple Underpass, Stemmons Freeway, Zapruder, Oswald, and the forever young President John Fitzgerald Kennedy flood my mental vision as I wander Dealey.

Dealey Plaza is not an imposing place. It is a small park in the middle of the West End Historic District of downtown Dallas, Texas. The curious come here in a regular flow. They wander, some knowing the tale, others having only read about it. All attempt in some small way to recapture some of the Kennedy mystique.

            The story is the saga of youth lost and what might have been. Like all the others I wonder why and lament the potential killed that day. I think in some small way visiting this site is a way to get closure after all these years, to get my mind to accept that yes, it did really happen.

Fifty Years On – One Boomer’s Perspective

As a child in the 1950′s I often thought what life would be like fifty years on, especially when the new century started in the year 2000. It seemed so far away. Fifty years seemed a lifetime to a boy of ten. I am over sixty now and I wonder where the years went.

Age was always in the discussion. Why I’d be over fifty in the year 2000. Likely I would be married with children and working to support the family. What I’d be doing or where I’d be living, I had no idea; after all I was only ten years of age.

Some magazines of the time thought everyone would be riding in space cars and robots would be in every home. That sounded kind of neat. Many thought people would be working less and less, perhaps only a few days a week. Experts predicted more leisure time. Earlier retirement seemed a given based on predictions of experts.

The year 2000 is now past. We are ten years into the 21st century. Space cars don’t exist. The cars we drive have computers on-board controlling all the anti-pollution devices. They have global positioning systems (GPS) to help us find the mall. Some have video cameras on the rear to stop the driver from running over Suzie’s bicycle. Almost all have exotic sound systems to bombard us with favorite tunes as we speed down the highways and by-ways. Automobiles still do not have auto-pilot like airplanes. The driver still has to stay alert and awake.

Robots are not commonplace in our homes. The only one I know of is the vacuum that cleans floors by itself. It scoots around by-itself. Builders are wiring homes, so the owners can remotely control appliances and the furnace to cite two examples.

They are common in manufacturing plants. Robots even build cars in the new century.

In the working-world people work longer hours each day and more hours per week. People delay retirement longer and longer in this century. It seems many of us are fated to die at our desks.

There are so many “baby boomers” approaching old age and retirement that medical systems and pension plans are beginning to stress out. “Baby boomers” or “boomers” are the generation of children born post-Second World War, in the late 1940′s and the 1950′s. We make up the largest segment of the population. The boomers toiled all our working lives, paid taxes, and contributed to pension plans, but now governments deem us a liability. It is not fair. Society should have planned for this day.

The retirement of older workers will create opportunities for younger generations. On the downside knowledge will be lost with the death and retirement of the boomers. More on this issue to follow.

Rosa Parks – Hero

Rosa Parks on desegregated bus.

On this day in 1955, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a city bus to a  white passenger as was required at the time.

Parks was a seamstress in Montgomery, Alabama at the time seemingly an ordinary citizen, but one that had finally had enough of segregation.

The bus driver had her arrested. She was tried and convicted of violating a local ordinance for her act of defiance.

Her brave act resulted in several crucial steps forward in the civil rights movement of the late 20th century:

• Blacks in Montgomery boycotted the bus system for over a year in protest.
• The boycott raised Martin Luther King, Jr. to national prominence. Previous to this he was virtually unknown.
• Resulted in Supreme Court decision outlawing segregation on city buses.
• For over 40 years she helped make Americans aware of the history of the civil rights struggle.
• She was eventually awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
• Rosa Parks example of gentle resistance remains an inspiration to the w0rld.

November 22, 1963 Remembered

Believe it or not it has been 46 years since the tragic events of the weekend of November 22 – 25, 1963.

John Fitzgerald Kennedy was elected November 8, 1960 as the youngest president at 43 years of age. (Teddy Roosevelt was youngest to take office, but he assumed office after McKinley’s assassination.) John Kennedy took office January 20, 1961 with a promise of his New Frontier. Together with his beautiful wife Jackie and young children they charmed the nation and the world.

In preparation for the election of 1964 Kennedy wanted to win the electoral votes of the populous state of  Texas. He decided to make a trip to Texas in late November 1963.

On the morning of Friday November 23, 1963 he and his wife took breakfast in Fort Worth and flew to Dallas afterwards. Their arrival at Love Field was greeted by a large crowd.

A motorcade then left from the airport with a planned arrival at the Trade Mart around 1:00pm local time. Kennedy, his wife, and Governor John Connally of Texas and his wife rode in an open Lincoln limousine through the downtown. On their way they passed the Texas School Book Depository.  As they turned the corner from Houston to Elm Street shots rang out. Kennedy was struck in the back with an exit out the neck. This would have been a nonfatal shot. Seconds later he was hit by a bullet in the head effectively killing him.  The time was 12:30 pm Central Standard Time. He was taken to Parkland Hospital where he was pronounced dead at around 1:00 pm local time.

Lyndon Baines Johnson, the Vice President effectively became the 36th president upon Kennedy’s death. He took the oath of office in Air Force One just before departing for Washington, D.C.

Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested several hours later in a Dallas movie theatre. He was charged with Kennedy’s murder.

Oswald was being moved from the jail to more secure quarters on Sunday November 24th. While being escorted through the basement of police headquarters, Jack Ruby a local nightclub owner with mob ties, stepped forward and shot Oswald at point-blank range. Oswald died later at Parkland Hospital. The truth died with him.

Monday November 25th the funeral of President Kennedy took place in Washington, D.C. Millions watched the event on television in disbelief that this young president could have been taken from us so suddenly.

He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

To this day there remain many unanswered questions and mysteries surrounding his assassination.

Remembrance of WW I Vets

Tomb of the Unknown (U.K.)

The photo above shows tributes placed on the British Tomb of the Unknown. This is located in Westminster Abby in London. Their unknown soldier is from World War I (aka The Great War).

The last three British World War I vets died this year, so there are none remaining from that country.

Canada’s last known surviving WW I vet is still alive. He lives in Spokane, Washington, U.S.A. The Canadian government has offered him a State funeral if he and his family so choose. He is over one hundred years old at the present time.

We must always remember.

Getting Published – Creative Nonfiction

Just before the shots - 46 yrs ago.

Today I celebrate another milestone in my writing career. I got published again. This time in an e-zine called Reflective Dog. A creative nonficton piece called, The Motorcade.

It’s about an historical event from the eyes of a fictional bystander. It tries to capture the excitement, emotion and shock of the event.

Check it out at this site,

http://www.reflectivedog.com/index_files/Page350.htm