The Act of Remembrance

By: Laura Steiner

This morning started much like any other.  Awake early, at my desk about 9:30 a.m to do some work.  About 10 a.m. I stopped work.  I put on my jacket, and took that short walk to Evergreen Cemetery.

I was there before the ceremony started, and took a few photos of the cenotaph.  Poppies were already scattered on the green carpeting draped over the stone surface.

There were also two letters, likely written by children laying there.  The story goes, one was from last year; a girl named Samantha.  It was placed there by someone setting up.  The second appeared this year. The first marked appreciation for a grandfather, and the second expressed appreciation for soldiers’ sacrifices.

It got me thinking about that act of Remembrance.  How purposeful it was to stop the hectic daily routine, and really think about what it  meant.  How this country was built, what it took to get us here 150 years on.

There is plenty to despair of in this world.  Those letters should give us hope.  Hope that all the history classes are sinking in.  Hope that the soldiers’ sacrifice was not in vain.  Hope that the act of Remembrance continues long after we’re gone.