Douglas Carney authors many of Stratastic's "Hearticles", and today, we're getting a personal glimpse into why Remembrance Day is especially important to Douglas, and the opportunity to reflect that it imparts on all of us.
While occasions such as these don't have a direct relation to condos, it reminds us all that we're interconnected first and foremost as human beings.
Thank you, Douglas, for this heartfelt article, for reminding us that we're all people first, and to take a moment to remember - today, and always.
-Stratastic Inc.
It is important to remember.
Happenings, events, history, and the trials and tribulations of human beings. Holding up a mirror to those collective memories helps us remember our humanity and learn from the pain that is often found there.
I remember my grandfather well, and to those of us who knew him at all, he never appeared to have war on his mind. He worked, yes - but he found great amounts of joy in sitting on a lawn chair, lemonade in hand and his hat would cover nearly half of his entire face, shielding him from the sun. It didn’t matter who you were, he would greet you with genuine care and say “Hey, Joe”. Everyone was Joe.
There were times when he was forthcoming about his own experiences in World War II. He was drafted, and that would later become his greatest fear for his grandchildren... that they would become soldiers by will, or by force, and fight in the next great war.
He was a prisoner. I never pushed this topic with him, but he would let things slip occasionally, and I could not fathom experiencing a small percentage of what he endured.
That is why we remember. He is long gone from this earth but I carry, through conversation, pieces of his memories, of bad times and good times, of struggles and moments of prosperity. I cherish every single one of them.
It is Remembrance Day. Please, take just a moment and remember.
- Douglas Carney,
Guest Blogger of "Hearticles" for Stratastic Inc.