Stumbling over history ...

Today the Rotary club of which I am proudly a member held its meeting out in the Officers' Mess at CFB Shilo. Following the tour of the facilities utilized by the 1st Regiment Royal Canadian Horse Artillery, we were given a fine lunch in the Officers' Mess, where we encountered to astounding pieces of Canadian History (amongst MANY spread throughout CFB Shilo).

The first was the 300+ year old table that carried the body of General James Wolfe back to England following his death from wounds received on the Plains of Abraham in 1759.

Originally a table on a British Warship, it would be transferred to the Citadel in Quebec following the ship's return to North America in 1860, and the table would remain in the possession of the 1st Regiment Royal Canadian Horse Artillery since their formation in 1871.

The other piece of Canadiana was a copy of Lt. Colonel John McRae's somewhat well known poem - "In Flanders Fields" that was penned in battle in 1915, and published in Punch along with drawings by McRae's friend "Dinky" Morrison. The framed picture of the drawings and the poem hangs on the wall of the Officers' Mess just outside the room housing General Wolfe's table ...
Both serve as a reminder that our history as a people and a nation has never been far removed from the battles that have been fought and won by our troops. Troops who have, since the founding of Canada, come from small rural communities who sent their young men and women to serve, and many of them paid the ultimate sacrifice ...

Lest We Forget.

A reminder of battles half a world away ...

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As part of our day, the Rotarians were taken on a tour of

the facilities used by the 1st Regiment Royal Canadian Horse Artillery.

Their Commanding Officer,

who had just returned from Afghanistan a few days ago,

spoke proudly of his Regiment,

His Soldiers,

Their tradition,

and their service to Canadians and Afghanis.

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Each piece of equipment was a reminder

that half a world away,

our soldiers continue to fight ...

Along the way,

the pictures hung in a place of remembrance

honoured:

Sgt Nichola Goddard

who died in battle on May 16th 2006

and

Capt. Jefferson Francis

who died in Afghanistan on July 4th 2007

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A gift of peace over lunch ...

Today for lunch The Brandon Rotary Club hosted Syed Soharwardy as their guest speaker. Syed along with Hassaan, Yasir, and Haris, came and shared reflections on his journey and answered some questions from the assembled group.

Along the way he commented that he believes that:

- we live in a very blessed country with strong feelings of meaning and harmony no matter where you are, and that Canadians have been blessed by God/Allah with understanding, tolerance and a caring acceptance of others, even those who are different

- we live in a great nation

- the greatest cause of violence is the simple lack of communication - between parents, between parents and children, and between people

- that if we are to have an end to violence we must begin with peace in our home that comes from peace in our hearts, and the peace in our homes will create peace in our communities, and peace in our communities will create peace in our world - between nations and people, and it all depends upon peace in our hearts

- the biggest single cause of violence in our world is ignorance and ILLITERACY - he noted that many in our world act from hate because they are unable to experience the fullness of life offered through literacy ... I commented to a fellow Rotarian that Syed's view fits well with the emphasis of Rotary International on Literacy ...

In the tradition of sharing a meal - a custom that unites all of humanity - Syed and his team came and sat at table with The Brandon Rotary Club and shared his experiences, and offered his wisdom and humour, and continued on his walk westward - promoting the cause of non-violence with each step.

And I for one am glad that along the way he stopped long enough to form a new friendship - one I will cherish ... I wished the men well on their journey and left them with the offer of a place to stay if they happen back this way again ... I hope they do ...

In the meantime - for more on Syed, and his journey and the cause of Stopping Violence - check out some of the links below:

The CBC story that started this ALL (click here)

The web page of the Multi-faith walk against violence (click here)

The web page of Syed's group Muslims against Terrorism (click here)

A warm Rotary Welcome ...

Today in Brandon, I was privileged to be part of the Official Welcome to the City of Brandon of Ramesh Ferris a Polio survivor who is pedaling his "bike" (it's a hand cycle) across Canada to raise awareness and MONEY in the fight against Polio through his Cycle to Walk marathon.

As a member of the Brandon Rotary Club, I helped along with the Manager of the BNRC to organize the venue (City Hall) and to arrange for Mayor Dave Burgess to come and officially welcome Ramesh and his entourage to the City this morning:

Along with Ramesh and his support team, there were also a number Rotarians on hand to make a donation to his cause, and to welcome him on behalf of Brandon Rotarians, who have been champions in the global fight to eradicate Polio, through the Rotary International's Polio Plus Campaign that has helped to reduce the incidences of Polio to less than 2000 globally each year!

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A donation was made to Ramesh and his goal of Polio: eradicate, educate and rehabilitate, and President Sarah along with a good crowd of Rotarians thanked Ramesh for completing 1/3 of his journey:
To learn more about this remarkable young man and his journey, visit his website:

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Cycle to Walk.com

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And to read Ramesh's reflections on the day, check out his blog at:

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Day 59 - Brandon Manitoba - Wrap Up!

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Tomorrow Ramesh continues his journey east ... Bon Voyage, and thanks for stopping by!!