About 4 minutes ago, this bag of rubbish was being kicked down the street outside our house, so I leant out of the window and shouted at the perpetrator. (It looks a lot worse in real life, and is blowing down the street in the high winds that are affecting the UK right now).
I say to the young fool who is kicking it: "Oi! What the hell are you doing?"
He answers, "Having a good time, Mate".
I ask, "Are you a University Student?"
He answers, "No. I am a Marine".
I will forget him a lot sooner than his great grand-Father, and I am sure he that he may have served his country well, but ... oh I don't know ... I have my doubts.
I would have gone downstairs to argue (yes, I am that foolish), but his mate dragged him away.
Oh, I am so depressed, this day of all days.
That's nothing. Here, the road authority (VicRoads) has banned the 1 minute silence at 11 am for fear of 'causing offence' - to whom and why noone knows. Everyone is suitably outraged. And the grandfather of the CEO of this organisation fought in Gallipoli.
ReplyDeleteWe met the nicest of young men in the home improvement store this evening, not much older than my own grandson, and yet already a veteran, just returning from active duty in Iraq.
ReplyDeleteTurns out he was even on the same FOB as my husband, although their paths never crossed in that desert land.
I shook him hand, patted him on the back, thanked him for his service especially today, this Veterans Day.
Renewed my faith in the youth of this country.
Causing offence? To whom? Adolph Hitler??? I feel for you, Jane..
ReplyDeleteYou have made the same joke we have all made. Perhaps it is offensive to all the 90 year old Japanese war veterens working at VicRoads.
ReplyDeleteI have a friend who was the chief oil minister in Iraq, before the invasions, and he was allowed to leave that country by Saddam himself, taking his family with him. He is an old man now, but is understandably ambivalent about his own country, to which he will never return. This is sad too. His youngest (30+ year old) daughter still has nightmares about the first bombings when she was a child, so I feel for the Iraqi people as well as the US and UK troops.
ReplyDeleteThis is exactly why I love men like you Tom! You get it.
ReplyDeleteHave just woken to the news of the London Poppy burnings.....
ReplyDeleteWhat irony Tom. Here this guy risked his life for his country, yet he's kicking trash all over its streets. It's a crazy world sometimes.
ReplyDeleteI don't know about the poppy burnings - I'll have to look it up.
ReplyDeleteI've just read the thing about the poppy burning which - thankfully - is not getting much coverage in this country. It's the few Muslims like that who give all the others such grief. The same with the student demonstration in London the day before yesterday - it only takes a handful of nasty bigots to turn a peaceful demonstration into a violent conflict.
ReplyDeleteThere have always been mindless young men in the forces and at least yours sounded good-natured; you were a 'mate'. Possibly not a great deal between his ears but prepared to obey orders and risk his life on our behalf nevertheless.
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