In Remembrance

In Flanders Fields
Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918)
Canadian Army

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.

Thanks, Vets.

Today is Veteran's Day in the U.S.; I know the holiday goes by other names in other parts of the world.

Consider this an open thank you to all veterans. As someone who values my imagination, using it to conjure characters and circumstances both fantastic and terrible, I cannot fathom the real horrors that many veterans have faced in war. From first hand accounts, combat is anything but glorious. War is the ugliest enterprise in which we humans engage. War is something I hope we can eventually wipe from the human experience.

I will always hope for nonviolent solutions to political, religious, and social disagreements, but I until that hope is realized, I thank the men and women who have heeded the call.

I specifically want to thank Captain Shawn Miller, a co-worker and member of the Kansas National Guard. Capt. Miller is returning to work tomorrow after serving a tour in Iraq. I know the students have missed him. Thanks, Captain.