Armistice Day…”on this day, at the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, the Great War ends.”
Somehow this is not something that is celebrated here in the United States. We call it Veterans Day…but there is something meaningful about those words. 11… 11… 11… The Great War Ends.
My making is at a stand still… as is my reading. Nothing new started. Nothing in process finished.
So…I thought I’d share In Flanders Field by John McRae
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
And in poking around the interwebs, I found this piece from Charlie Brown that I have never, ever seen before. Leave it to Linus…
I hope your making and reading has been more productive than mine this week! If you wrote a post to share, please leave your link below and thank you!
I love Peanuts – thank you for this clip.
I hope your reading and making mojo return soon. It’s been a tough few months and a little rest can be a god thing!
I’m working on the second sock of a pair of socks for my son for Christmas!
We were in London one year on Armistice Day. Everyone everywhere stops. The radio and tv go silent for two minutes. It is remarkably powerful.
Some weeks are just like that! Hopefully your reading will pick up again now (that we can take a deep breath), and you’ll get on witih your making (I am anxious to see that bag you were going to make!!).
Charlie Brown Christmas and the Great Pumpkin were staples of my childhood, but it’s a real shame that Flanders Field was not. Thank you for introducing me to it. Somehow it’s made even more poignant with Linus’ narration. (Also, Snoopy can drive?!)
It sounds like you’re in what I call an Incubation Period. I’ve learned to trust them!
And I’m with Bonny…there is, for me, a greater reverence in hearing that poem in Linus’s voice versus in my own head. 1983?! How’d we miss it all these years? Thanks for the find. (Loving that VW Bug…)
It’s actually a Citroen 2CV there were very popular in France and the UK in the 80s. A classic car now 😉
Oh, that Peanuts clip is lovely! Somehow the poem is even more effective in a child’s voice.
Oh, that Charlie Brown clip!! <3
Such a poignant animation. To quote Linus, “What have we learned, Charlie Brown?” I would answer, “Nothing.” To quote Edwin Starr, “War! What is it good for?” “Nothing.”
The poem is lovely, and Linus’ rendering is simply perfect (ditto his reading of the Christmas Story … there is just something about his voice!)
I was in a stuck place with my reading last week and picked up Clap When You Land on audio. AMAZING. and today I finished a pair of socks and measured a swatch. I’m thinking I might be turning a corner, too!
I love the poem, In Flander’s Fields . . . and in a child’s voice it is so touching. The music was also beautiful. Rest a bit and the mojo will come back. It’s been an exhausting few weeks and it isn’t over yet. Take good care.
That was so moving. Thanks for sharing!
I’ve been to Remembrance Day services here hosted by a British organization and they are always very very moving. I have so many vets in my life-truly thankful.
We have two days of ceremony here in the UK, 11.11 and Remembrance Sunday which is always the second Sunday in November, some years the two combine. The commenter above is correct that we have a two minute silence on 11 November, we did this every years throughout my schooling and wherever I have worked too. I do it at home with the children. It is now about remembering all those who have died in service to our country not just from the first world war.
Thank you for sharing the clip it was really poignant. The music was beautiful, would love to know what it was.
Good post. Lovely poem. I like