...let's not forget

Today is Remembrance Day in Canada. At the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, Canadians customarily observe 2 minutes of silence to reflect on our freedom and the men and women who sacrificed so we could have it.

Here is a story about that day.

On November 11, 1999 Terry Kelly was in a Shoppers Drug Mart store in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. At 10:55 AM an announcement came over the store’s PA asking customers who would still be on the premises at 11:00 AM to give two minutes of silence in respect to the veterans who have sacrificed so much for us.

Terry was impressed with the store’s leadership role in adopting the Legion’s "two minutes of silence" initiative. He felt that the store’s contribution of educating the public to the importance of remembering was commendable.

When eleven o’clock arrived on that day, an announcement was again made asking for the "two minutes of silence" to commence. All customers, with the exception of a man who was accompanied by his young child, showed their respect.

Terry’s anger towards the father for trying to engage the store’s clerk in conversation and for setting a bad example for his child was channeled into a beautiful piece of work called, "A Pittance of Time". Terry later recorded "A Pittance of Time" and included it on his full-length music CD, "The Power of the Dream".

Read more...

Watch video - "A Pittance of Time" (click on ‘Video’)

Thank you, Terry, for reminding us in this poignant way of the meaning of this day, and that we need to keep the torch of gratitude burning.

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Who is Terry Kelly?

A native of Newfoundland, in 1979 Terry Kelly won two silver medals in the Canadian Track Championships and was a member of the Canadian track team that competed in the 1980 Paralympics. He is the third blind person in the world to run the mile in under 5 minutes.

He is a musician and has recorded five CDs. His project "The Power of the Dream" "is the first commercially-produced music CD in the world that includes Braille on the liner notes and is packaged so that the entire text contents can be accessed by the blind, the visually impaired and sighted alike from the enhanced CD."

In 2000 he was presented the King Clancy Award and in 2003 he was appointed by then- Governor General Adrienne Clarkson to the Order of Canada.