Don't you hate when you make promises to yourself, like a blog a week, and then distractions and procrastinations creep in completely unexpectedly? Setting a goal should be enough, right? Then it all unfolds magically and triumphantly...tada! You'd think by now at my age that self delusions and reality would have met and had tea to sort out these gaps and patched up their differences.
The thought and image that I can't get past is of Bobby, lingering in my 1977 high school year book. I know, I know, I said I'd torch these things 2 weeks ago, but I still can't let go. Then Remembrance day happened and brought me right back to these three volumes; at least now they are dust free. In my grade 11 class photo, my eyes are averting the camera and I'm looking over at the person in question; Bobby Girouard. It probably was not him catching my attention at the time, we were cordial but not friends. In our younger years, we lived on the same street, but there are no huge recollections of him. He was quiet, like me, and struck me as a gentle being. Still all those years later, it is unmistakable, I am looking over to him.
Fast forward a few decades, Chief Warrent Officer Robert Girouard is the 44th casualty in Afghanistan. He was 46. I've been trying to make sense of this ever since we watched the riveting CBC documentary profiling the soldiers lost in this latest war. It occurs to me that Bobby was one of those kids that stood up to bullies and dedicated his life to it on a global scale. As a pacifist I could never fully appreciate that until just now. The kind of bravery he and many others like him demonstrate makes me marvel and appreciate the peaceful life I am fortunate to have.
This proves it once again, you never know how the past will influence your future.
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