About Me

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Delta, British Columbia, Canada
I took very early retirement from teaching in '06 and did some traveling in Europe and the UK before settling down to do some private tutoring. As a voracious reader, I have many books waiting in line for me to read. Tell me I shouldn't read something, and I will. I'm a happy, optimistic person and I love to travel and through that believe that life can be a continuous learning experience. I'm looking forward to traveling more some day. I enjoy walking, cycling, water aerobics & and sports like tennis, volleyball, and fastpitch/baseball. I'm just getting into photography as a hobby and I'm enjoying learning all the bits and bobs of my digital camera. My family is everything to me and I'm delighted to be the mother of two girls and the Gramma of a boy and a girl. I may be a Gramma, but I'm at heart just a girl who wants to have fun.

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

S is for SORROW

It is a dark and stormy day here in my little village on the south-west coast of British Columbia, just south of the third largest city in Canada (Vancouver).  As I peer through the heavy raindrops, I see the giant cedars, birch, and poplars swaying in the wind as they drop their final few leaves.  Less than a week ago, November 11th dawned clear and sunny, and we headed down to Memorial Park to celebrate Remembrance Day.  That day, I was so thankful that Canada has been spared any real danger in the face of any of the wars being fought across the continent and the oceans.  Today, the sky weeps in sorrow at how quickly things can change.

France is at war now.  France - one of the founding countries of our nation.  Explorers arrived on our shores as early as 1534 when French explorers under Jacques Cartier celebrated Canada’s first Roman Catholic mass, at their camp of Brest on Labrador’s coast.  The following year, Cartier became the first European to sail into the St. Lawrence River, which he believed was a route to Asia. Two sons of Iroquois Chief Donnacona, who were guiding Cartier, referred to their native village as Canada, the explorer’s first exposure to the name.  For more history of the connection that Canada has to France, see here.

There have been wars from the beginning of time, and if you think about it, most have been fought in the name of religion.  Many continue to believe that the terrorists who today sabotage peoples' freedoms and rights are fighting in the name of their religion.  They are not!  The President of France, François Hollande said in his speech to the nation yesterday that these terrorist are "uncivilized cowards."  He also stated that "we are going to lead a war which will be pitiless. Because when terrorists are capable of committing such atrocities they must be certain that they are facing a determined France, a united France, a France that is together and does not let itself be moved, even if today we express infinite sorrow.”  I say that these cowards will face a determined world, a united world, that will unite to annihilate them forever. 
VIVE LA FRANCE
 
 
VIVE LE CANADA
 
 
VIVE LA GUERRE
 
There is no deeper sorrow than when innocent people are mowed down by bombs and military weapons.  And I will not even stoop to mention the name by which these terrorists are known.  We all know.  And with the greatest respect to all ABC Wednesday contributors, I apologize for this rant. But we must stand tall and proud and defiant in the face of these tyrants.
 
Thanks to the stupendous work of Roger, our administrator, to the saintly Denise, the creator of ABCW, and to the sensational team who visit several blogs per week to leave scintillating comments.

18 comments:

Unknown said...

Its terrible, hardly imaginable, what some people do to another....
i can't do anything else but praying for the better



Have a nice abc-day/- week
♫ M e l ☺ d y ♫ (abc.-w-team)

Trubes said...

Leslie so poignantly written and oh so true.
My French Tutor Isabelle, I think, lives in that
part of Paris....She returned there after her contract
ended at Liverpool University.
I've had one or two French tutors but she was the best, we just had
speak and read in French, total immersion
I'm going to have a search around my cyber world to see if I can contact her.
Yes we must stand up to these awful people, it seems that those who pull the strings don't pull the triggers...
Stay safe my dear friend.
Di.
ABCW team.

ABCW team

Beverley Baird said...

Definitely a time for sorrow. The unimaginable happens too frequently. Thoughtful post.

Anonymous said...

sorrow, yes, is a pill that leads to headaches.

Reader Wil said...

Thank you Leslie for your thoughts about the war. I am glad that all Europe , Russia included, is going to work with the USA.
Apart from the war with IS we also have the refugee problem.
Wil, ABCW Team.

Hildred said...

Throughout the ages civilizations seem eventually to be at the mercy of the barbarians. Besides praying for peace I believe we need to pray for wisdom.

photowannabe said...

Man's hatred of their fellow man is truly hard for me to comprehend.
The world is filled with So much Sorrow.

Deepa said...

Its heartbreaking & sad. The world needs peace.

Roger Owen Green said...

it's sad, and the situation is getting sadder by the day...
ROG, ABCW

mrsnesbitt said...

Sombre and Sincere - echoed round the world.
Dx

Lea said...

A great choice for the letter S
The flag photos are beautiful!

carolann said...

well written...hard to understand people doing this to other people. makes me heavyhearted

carolann said...

I forgot to say that I do live in North Carolina, but not this close to the ocean

Gerald (SK14) said...

so much to be sorry for but we need to continue to speak to everyone

Su-sieee! Mac said...

I agree, Leslie. We must stand together against the terrorists. I hope though that our leaders will be sane and make sure we don't kill innocent people. Then we are no different than the terrorists.
The View from the Top of the Ladder

Obsessivemom said...

I was reading an article that said religious children were meaner than non-religious ones - so it begins as early as that. How ironical is it that while all religious teach peace most wars are fought over religion. What happened in Paris was absolutely heart-breaking.
BeatAboutThe Book

Uppal said...

A thought provoking and poignant write up about our times!

Priya said...

A very sad reality.. Such acts are deplorable indeed..