Lion

Well.

Today was (and still is) Remembrance Day, which is always a different kind of holiday. Most holidays are happy, and though it still offers a day off school, it is a time to be serious too and remember the sacrifices made so that we could be blessed with the freedom we have today.

Though the memories that I have of him are very faint, my grandfather on my dad's side fought in the war, though most likely on the other side. My mom's father might've too, but though I remember him almost slightly better I don't know anything about his life or even much about him. Most of my family history I get is what my brother tells me, which dad told him long ago, and he doesn't tell me very much. But it's different because on Remembrance Day you hear about all the things the soldiers went through and how they suffered and everything and though it is heartbreaking it makes you wonder about the other side. The side that lost. How devastating it must've been. I mean not everyone who fights in a war agrees with the war; most of them were forced to be in the army. And just because a country decides one thing doesn't mean the whole country agrees. If you think about it, it's only a few power-hungry individuals who made the decisions for the rest of the country, and from that all countries suffered. I can't help but cringe a little inside everyone someone blames an entire country or race for something that happened because really it is only those few people who are to blame, not everyone else. And because of it many harsh feelings arise.

There was this thing I read (or heard) about this guy who was one of the most powerful men in the Second World War and was actually responsible for carrying out efficiently the deaths of many many people. He was a huge figure and was greatly feared. After the War ended though, he was captured and put on trial. At the trial, a man who had either worked with him or suffered under him cried out and fainted right in the middle of it. He was revived quickly and when they asked him what was wrong he exclaimed, "He's only a man; he was so evil and yet that could've been any one of us!"

Last year for Remembrance Day a guy came into our school and he had been in a concentration camp and just listening to him it was almost heartbreaking the things he had said and the stuff he had to go through. But just as vividly as I remember him speaking, I also remember talking to my friend who was there too and she told me that there were wars where much more than 2 million people were killed. And that just shocked me into reality. I mean I don't know much about Chinese (or really any other asian country's) history but you'd think I would've heard about that. I mean two million people is absolutely horrible and even more than that is hard to imagine. And you don't hear of that anywhere. No notice is being taken of it. I don't know much about the asian holidays either, but I don't remember ever hearing about a holiday like Remembrance Day to honour and cherish the memories of those who sacrificed their life for us. We aren't the only ones suffering. Even today when you read the paper some of the stories you read are so sad... even ones in our own country (which is why I stick mostly to the funnies lol). But seriously, it's sad. And yeah... I am just going to go on and on and I don't even know where I am getting at anymore.

So on a brighter note - and this has nothing to do with the title of the post either - I went this morning to a Gaelic immersion thing today. A guy came in from Cape Breton and we spoke nothing but Gaelic from 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. And boy did my brain ever feel like exploding lol. But it was good. Gaelic is a fun language to learn and the fact that it's a dying language kind of makes it more exciting. Trying to get your mouth around some of the pronounciations can be pretty fun too haha. But like any other language, there is a history behind it, and learning about that and their old ways of life gives it more depth and meaning. Like the songs we learn to sing, especially the milling songs. When the class went to Cape Breton last year we actually got to do some milling and sing along, which was pretty cool.

And yeah, that's all I'm saying for today. My brain is fried and I'm gonna head downstairs to see if there's anything to eat to go with it.

Mar sin leat! (mar-shin-let)!


P.S.
Some funny Gaelic phrases that you can say to all your friends!
[pulled off some googled gaelic site]

• "An toir thu dhomh pog?" (Un TUH-r oo ghawnh pawk?) "Will you give me a kiss?"
• "Cha toir, ach bheir mi dhut sgailc!" (Chah TUH-r, ach vehr mee ghoot skahlk!) "No, but I'll slap you!"
• "Cò an caora sin còmhla riut a chunnaic mi an-raoir?" (Kaw uhn KEU-ra shin KAW-la root uh CHOO-nik mee uhn-royer?) "Who was that sheep I saw you with last night?"
• "Cha b'e sin caora, 'se sin mo chèile a bha innte!" (Chah beh shin KEU-ra, sheh shin moe CHYEH-luh uh vah EEN-tchuh!) "That was no sheep, that was my spouse!"
• "'S toigh leam briosgaidean gu mòr!" (STUH LUH-oom BRISS-kaht-chun goo MAWR) "I like cookies -- a lot!"

P.P.S.

Okay I give in... I have to at least say SOMETHING that has to do with the title of the post. Lions are adorable. The Lion King movies are great. Elton John for one of his music videos got to play with an actual lion cub... I'm so jealous.

There.