SPECIAL EVENT IN HONOR OF OUR SOLDIERS (SEE BOTTOM OF POST FOR DETAILS) Remembrance Day (Veterans Day) ~ Taking Time to Pay Homage

Hi everyone,

Remembrance Day (Veterans Day, falls on the same date in the U.S.) is a day set aside by the Commonwealth countries to remember and honor the men and women who have died in war and military operations.

In our day to day lives, it is often forgotten that the freedom we enjoy was won through long battles and that many died so we could have that freedom.Today is the day to remember those that were lost to attain it. To pay homage to those that went and fought so we could be free.

If you live in the Ottawa area, please try and get out to one of the events planned for today. If you are not sure what those events are, please click on the following link that will take you to a list of the events in the area.

If you don't live in Ottawa, be sure to check out your local listings as I'm sure there is a Remembrance Day event. 

If you can't get out to an event, please take a few minutes to read the poem "Flanders Field" below, and  join me in a moment of silence to pay homage to loved ones lost in battle.

Flanders Field

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. 

--John McCrae, 1915

During World War I, John McCrae was tending the wounded and dying in the trenches at the Second Battle of Ypres in the Flanders area of Belgium as the Canadians held their ground against chlorine gas attacks. When a close friend was killed and buried in a quick grave marked with a plain wooden cross, John McCrae wrote In Flanders Fields.

First published in Punch magazine in 1915, the poem In Flanders Fields has become an abiding symbol of remembrance worldwide.

Becky & Kate

*************************** SPECIAL EVENT******************************

Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.
-- Winston Churchill  

This weekend, November 11 – 14, Terri Giuliano Long, author of the bestselling novel In Leah’s Wake, joins 50 indie authors in Blog Tour de Troops, a charity blog hop sponsored by the Indie Book Collective.   

To celebrate, Terri is hosting Emmy-winning film editor Nina Gilberti, currently a full-time editor for the hit CBS crime drama Criminal Minds. Nina is also an indie filmmaker. On Terri’s blog, Nina talks about her upcoming documentary, When Jane and Johnny Coming Marching Homeless, a powerful film about the horrors faced by some veterans upon their return home after war. 

 In my dreams I hear again the crash of guns, the rattle 

of musketry, the strange, mournful mutter of the battlefield.

-- Douglas MacArthur

Did you know that one-third of the people living on the streets are veterans who served in the Vietnam War?

In addition to physical homelessness - whether couch surfing, living in a car or existing on the street – many vets also face emotional, psychological, and spiritual homelessness. While they may seem fine on the outside, within they struggle with the hidden wounds of war - issues like Post Traumatic Stress (PTSD), nightmares, hyper-vigilance, meaning they are on high alert all the time, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), drug & alcohol abuse and addiction, prescription drug addiction – resulting in high divorce rates, joblessness, spousal abuse, and suicide. Naturally, these life-altering problems also affect the spouse, children, and parents of veterans.

With her film, When Jane & Johnny Come Marching Homeless, Nina hopes to inspire our nation to care, to generate real compassion - and perhaps create a movement towards profound healing and understanding for these veterans and their families. 

Blog Tour de Troops

This Veteran’s Day Weekend, November 11 – 14, 50 indie authors are participating in a daisy chain blog hop to support U.S. troops. Anyone who leaves a comment on a participating author’s blog will receive a coupon for a free eBook  - plus the author will give a free eBook to one active-duty U.S. troop. This means you have a chance to collect 50, YES 50, FREE eBOOKS!! 

For details and a list of participating authors, please visit the Indie Book Collective site: http://indiebookcollective.wordpress.com 

AMAZING PRIZES

Leave a comment on Terri’s blog and receive a coupon for an In Leah’s Wake eBook – for every comment, Terri will also give a free eBook to an active-duty troop.

PLUS, just for leaving a comment, you’ll be entered in a random drawing for one of these amazing prizes:
 
FIRST PRIZE – a $ 50 Amazon gift card, a copy of the Criminal Minds script for episode 701- the season seven opener written by executive producer and writer Erica Messer, SIGNED BY MS. MESSER AND THE ENTIRE CM CAST, PLUS an autographed photo of the Criminal Minds cast!
 
SECOND PRIZE (total 3) – autographed photograph of the Criminal Minds cast! 

WIN A CARE PACKAGE FOR YOUR FAVORITE SOLDIER

With your comment, leave the name of a U.S. troop and he or she will be eligible to win an awesome care package, consisting of:  $ 100 Amazon gift card, a boxed video set of Criminal Minds, Season 6, PLUS an autographed photo of the CM cast!

* Winners to be determined by a random number generator, using random.org.

To learn more about the film When Jane & Johnny Come Marching Homeless and to enter the raffle, please visit Terri’s blog: http://www.tglong.com/blog/2011/11/blog-tour-de-troops/