Friday 5: My Remembrance Poppy

Friday 5: My Remembrance Poppy

It has been two weeks now of purchasing and adorning poppies. I have bought them at Starbucks, Loblaws, Bruno’s, the Liquor Store and Shoppers Drug Mart. They are all the same. Designed to fall off any outdoor weather garment they come in contact with. You don’t see remnants lying on the street? Are they with the other socks that have gone missing? I occasionally step on a pin in the house nowhere near the outerwear and can’t find the red or black parts to reunite them. Where do all the poppies go? Are they blowing in the wind? Should that be a song? Are they collected by poppy fairies in the night and recycled for next year? I have some theories.

  1. Maybe they are designed to fall off so that the fundraising effort for veterans increase. If so, good job!
  2. Possibly they are falling off as a symbol of the falling down of soldiers in their pursuit of peace. If so, great symbolism!
  3. Alternately they could be designed to fall off so that they are flying all around in the Toronto windstorms constantly reminding us of the men and women who sacrifice for us. If so, stellar idea!
  4. Or just maybe the death of each lapel poppy is a stark reminder that life is fragile and to cherish every moment. If so, I applaud your gumption.
  5. But maybe the pins get dislodged and forcibly insert themselves into my foot to give me a taste of pain as another reminder of others’ sacrifices. It is meant to make me cry and reflect. If so, that may be going a little too far.

Whatever the reason for the number of poppies I cycle through in November, they are all worth it. Remember a veteran this month and always. Hug one if you can without looking like a stranger freak. At least plan to attend a service on the 11th and thank someone in the Forces for their service to your country.

This November keep a supply of $5 bills handy for the distinctive boxes in your favourite stores and don’t bother using a safety pin or stopping the end with an eraser. Remember to remember. I don’t much care that wearing a poppy costs me a fortune in $5 bills each year. It is the smallest of sacrifices.


Comments

  1. I just admit defeat and replace as necessary. 🙂
    Erica G recently posted…Weight Loss Wardrobe Woes: Because what if the weight comes back?My Profile

  2. Remembrance poppy, totally new to me. I took a gander on Wikipedia to get more info. I’m not sure how I’ve lived this long never seeing anyone wear a poppy and never even reading about them at some point. It’s my sheltered upbringing, I’m sure of it.
    kdcol recently posted…So many questions!My Profile

    • And here I am thinking it was universal and forgetting that it was a Commonwealth thing to wear poppies. Remember to remember Kristine. Heed your own advice…

      • We always had them for Veterans Day here in the States. Vets would stand on the street (like Santa) and give them out. A donation was nice (usually about 15 2to 25 cents back then) but I don’t know where to find them anymore. Besides, they’re probably made in China now.

        • I am sure they are made in China. Everything is. You can’t go into a store around here without finding a box of poppies. The middles used to be green instead of black and you can tell the cheapos who have their poppy from 4 years ago still stapled to their lapel. Shun.

  3. When I was a kid they had pipe cleaners for stems, and you wrapped them around a button – lasted forever.

  4. When I was in Britain I took great pride in wearing a remembrance poppy and I wish we had them here in the States. There’s a program to use green light bulbs as a signal to vets but I can see all kinds of problems with that. If a poppy has a hard time staying pinned to your lapel imagine how hard it is to pin on a light bulb.
    I love it that a couple of different years of Canadian quarters have a red poppy design–the first ever colored coins to be used in circulation. The 2004 ones caused a stir when one turned up in the Pentagon and the geniuses there thought it might be a listening device.

    Yeah, Canada is spying on us.
    Christopher recently posted…The Connection.My Profile

  5. I’ve never seen the poppies for sale in my part of the country (American South). What a shame. Also, I misred the title of this on Twitter and thought it said, “Losing another puppy”. I’m so glad this post isn’t about dead puppies!
    Gina W. recently posted…Goobertude: Wizard LevelMy Profile

  6. I was very glad you clarified that it was two separate poppies and not just the same poppy four times!

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