The old warriors are fewer every year.  They polish their medals, brave the cold of November and march once again.  They tell their stories and share their memories of the times that forged Canada’s identity in a crucible of fire and destruction.

They fought, and still fight, on the air and sea and in the air.  They brought and still bring pride and pain to their families, communities and country.  They lost and still lose their youth and innocence on battlefields thousands of miles from their homes and many, far too many, lost and continue to lose their lives.

So November 11th comes once again.  The ceremonies are repeated and a single trumpet will sing its sad song.  The old and young will mingle once more as the wreathes are laid in solemn tribute.  The entire country will pause for a minute or two in silent contemplation of those we have lost.

We owe our soldiers more than we can ever pay.  They are the instruments of our national will and conscience.  We send them to fight far, far away so we don’t have to fight at home.  The very least we can do is remember them and their sacrifice.

“In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.”

I really hope that I’ve finished the last business trips for 2008. By the calculations over at FlightMemory, I’ve flown 24 times (not counting the flying lessons) and I’ve logged:

• 39,263 miles (63,188 kilometres)
• 106 hours in the air

This makes 2008 my busiest year yet.

Speaking of flying lessons, the travelling put a real damper on my time so I’ve just cracked the 10 hour threshold which leaves me at least another 10 hours before I can solo and a total of 35 to go until I can go for my license.  I also got way out of sync with the groundschool schedule so I restarted the entire course this last Thursday night.  Hopefully I can go all the way through this time without a break.  Luckily the Brampton Flying Club allows you to take the course as often as you want.

The economy may be tanking but that only means that my company becomes much more aggressive in the pursuit of new business.  I then get called on more often to provide product support for presentations and tenders and that’s on top of the day-to-day problems that require my attention.  Very tired at the end of the day.  Today (Saturday), for instance, I’m working on a system upgrade from home.

I’ve only been to the Toronto Aerospace Museum a couple of times in the last few months so projects are starting to build up.  I should be there today but no such luck.  Next week for sure.

The historic US elections this week kept me glued to CNN and the net when time permitted.  You all know which way I was leaning and I’m still overjoyed at the outcome.  Watching the Republican party bring out their knives afterwards has been fun as well.

Now comes the long slide into winter.  Lots of things to keep me occupied so I don’t think I’ll be suffering from cabin fever.

Spent part of today driving around checking out some of the areas I knew when I lived here over 3 decades ago.

We lived in this house in West Vancouver for a few years.  Looks vastly different than I remember.  Used to be a dark blue as I recall and the door in front of the car used to be the garage door.

After that, it was out along Marine Drive to Horseshoe Bay.  One of the main ferry terminals to the Gulf Islands and Vancouver Island.  Still as pretty as I remember.

Finally, out to Deep Cove.  Very, very touristy now.