HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 1969-11-05, Page 16PAGE :SIXTEEN,
THE LUCKNOW SENTINEL, LUCKNOW, ONTARIO
•
gionaires' day off
There's, nothing more .boring
than listening to, a •.group . of ` old
sWeats talking- about. "The
war':` unless; you yourself hap
pen to be an. Old Sweat, as we,
'old sweats are called Then, it's
fun.
• ' This' year, I; was asked to
speak at two. differentRe-
membrance Day • banquets. I
was unable : to accept either,
and was genuinely sorry about .
that.' There's - nothing like a •
crowd of old . sweats lying
their , heads off onRenciembr
ance Day.
Don't think of it, as a brood
of middle-aged' and : elderly •
men sitting around all. ..day,
Nov. lith, "remembering'k,'
their "fallen comrades" lugu-
briously,.
• Oh,. they_do that, but it.. -takes_._
place in the morning, at the
cenotaph, at 11 'a.m:, when . the
guns stopped firing in 'World
War 'I and the • stunned-survi-"
vors looked at . each .other ':and
every •man : alive could; scarcely
believe it, • . •
And' there's nothing • lugubri• ,
• ous or.. mouthful about the, cer='
• emony. There's 'a' certain. pride
as the • oldsters step ` out in
something resembling their old
quick march: ';There's :' a poig
nancy•as the colors dip and the ,
Last Post sounds:. •There's • a
lump in the throat and, the odd
contorted' face, and a few tears'
the two minutes' . silence
a , Blit' then • there's . 'the trium•
pliant; jainty, send " if Rerexf
lee.
And off Alley swing; purged •
once More,' and. ready to. ' get
down to. the serious observance
of :Remembrance Day. Back at1 •
the Legion Hall. -
A. few' of the ;smart ones, the
timid ones, and.. the ,wife -scared
ones '' go . home for . lunch. , but
most of the • old sweats •'haN, e
planned to make . a ;day :of it,
even,'though. they 'might 'need '
plasma the next morning,.
I' don't mean it's an orgy;
Far from it. But it is a shuck- .
ink off of the daily rut.. and
routine,,' a- 'once a year get-to-
gether where you, can retell
Old' storieswith, fresh .embroi-
derv,• and' laugh a, lot, and ',re-
capture,
,re capture, • fragmentarily, • the
feeling that ' you're 20 again,
not 50or70..•
Psychologists, 'y et e r• a n 's
wives, and , ,other non -old
sweats may well look down
their noses and call the whole
thing childish.:Of course, it is.
But: there's.'a•'bond there (and
it doesn't, matter which war.
you •were in), that you . can't.
find anywhere else.
• It's not: nearly as childish as
university . class reunions, at
which, a lot :of :middle-aged_.peo-
ple who,: never did' know each
other very well, :get stoned and
maudlin and nostalgic hying
to recapture something they
"n -ever had. Nor -is it as childish
• as 'business , conventions where .
a lot of people get drunk and .'
try to capture' something they
never will have..
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER Sth, 196
•That's .' because these . men
did have • something and... they.'
retain some part of it,, even
though it' might be• 50 years
:old: or more.
Lice, ,
mud, snotty officers
and a military system of in-
credible •stupidity'. could not
quench them. The only '.thing
• that could 'do that • was • death.,,
-And they Iicked death: -�'
CRAWFORD MOTORS
CRYSLER - DODGE - PLYMOUTH
WINGHAM ONTARIO
69 I�OI E'; kdo o►rOlautumat'
power steering and power brakes,
demonstrate
69 CHRYSLER Newport Convert-
ible, power equipped and radio •
69CHIP •
• YSLER, 4 door, sedan, power'
steering, power brakes and radio
69 BUICK Wildcat, 2 door. •hardtop,
power equipped and . radio
68 CORONET 500, 2 door hardtop
¢8 automatic and radio,.
67 , CORONET, 4 door; 6 automatic
with radio .
®a® ®GE stationwiigon,_$� _'nde
automatic, and radio
67 OLDSMOBILE, *4. door, 8
PPS
automatic,: power i
• . 'and` .
radio
67, PLYMOUTH, 2 door hardtop,
8 'automatic, power.; equipped and
,radio
65 DODGE, 2 door hardtop, 6 auto-
matic
. 4
' and • .radio
64 . . PLYMOUTH,. 6 ' automatic
63 FORD,, 4 door sedan, 6 standard
TRUCK
64 ,DODGE D500,chassis and.cab
you might find in , a , Oerman
veteran's organization: • 'Any-
body who tried to sing '"It's A
Long Way, to Tipperary" would
proably. be slung .:out intothe
alley. •
There's. only,
one. thing :that's
beginning to cast a• shadow
over it,-'Th'ey;rebeginning to
let the women..in on it.,This' is,
going to enrage the ladies of
' the Legion Auxiliary:, hurt:
girls why ,dont you . just get..a
hig
-dinner ready, clear 'out at';
the: dishes in the morning. '
;Even . if your husband ' is '.a
Mae green, around ' the,, gills
next day,and you don't . speak
to him . for .two days, I :.think
he'd appreciate_ it, -
Taking -women -to-, a ;.legion
So:. they • have something to.
:lie about, . and laugh about -
• 'and', bandy insults• about, and
just plain celebrate.
Canadian , Legion celebra
• tions have nothing .quasi -milt
ary .about: them.' There.' are. no
officers and other .ranks,• There
are `just legionnaires, whatever
• their'color' or creed.-
There is no linking of 'arms .,
and singing ,old; war .songs, as
o..
party is' like taking your moth-
er onyour honeymoon
."On . Remembrance • Day; re
•member, it's only once a year,
Give "the poor'' old. devil a '
•
•.
ertain
ATORS INSURANCE' ASSOCIATIONS
Ir0":OPER •
OF GUELPH
chance to be 20 again,, for, a
few hours
Short sk i`ted ma joreates. help
keep the crowd's mind off how bad
the band is.
Barber: Do you want
on. }Tour, face when 1 m finisi.c
Gusonnier.`' Well; 1 hope.i
leave m}• nose, •
s,
ewrite=rs For Christma
,y
•
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WE NOW HAVE TYPEWRITERS IN' STOCK
.
COME IN NOW AND LAY -AWAY FOR
CHRISTMAS. '
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