Mankind
must put an end to war...before
war
puts an end to mankind. (John F. Kennedy)
Older
men declare war; but it is the youth
that
must fight and die. (Herbert Hoover)
I
believe conscription is unjust, immoral and a denial of human rights.
(Tony
McFarland)
My Son
(This
tribute, courtesy of Sydney)
A
wealthy man and his son loved to collect rare works of art. They had
everything in their collection from Picasso to Raphael. They would
often sit together and admire the great works of art. When the
Vietnam conflict broke out, the son went to war. He was very
courageous and died in battle while rescuing another soldier. The
father was notified and grieved deeply for his only son.
After
about a month later, just before Christmas, there was a knock at the
door. A young man stood at the door with a large package in his
hands. He said, “Sir, you don't know me, but I am the soldier for
whom your son gave his life. He saved many lives that day...and he
was carrying me to safety when a bullet struck him in the heart and
he died instantly. He often talked about you...and your love for
art.” The young man held out this package. “I know this isn't
much. I am not really a great artist, but I think your son would
have wanted you to have this.”The father opened the package. It
was a portrait of his son, painted by the young man. He stared in
awe at the way the soldier had captured the personality of his son in
the painting. The father was so drawn to the eyes that his own eyes
welled up with tears. He thanked the young man and offered to pay
him for the picture. “Oh, no sir, I could never repay what your
son did for me. It's a gift.”
The
father hung the portrait over his mantle. Every time visitors came
to his home, he took them to see the portrait of his son before he
showed them any of the other great works he had collected. The man
died a few months later. There was to be a great auction of his
paintings. Many influential people gathered...excited to see the
great paintings, having an opportunity to purchase one for their
collection.
On
the platform sat the painting of the son. The auctioneer pounded his
gavel. “We will start the bidding with this picture of 'The Son'.
Who will bid for this picture?” There was silence...
Then
a voice in the back of the room shouted, “We want to see the famous
paintings. Skip this one.”
But
the auctioneer persisted, “Will somebody bid for this painting?
Who will start the bidding? $100, $200?” Another voice angrily
stated, “We didn't come to see this painting. We came to see the
Van Gogh's, the Rembrandts. Get on with the real bids!” But still,
the auctioneer continued, “The Son! The Son! Who'll take The Son?”
Finally, a voice came from the very back of the room. It was the
longtime gardener of the man and his son. “I'll give $10 for the
painting.” Being a poor man, it was all he could afford. “We
have $10...who will bid $20?” No response...a voice from the rear
said, “Give it to the bidder for $10. Let's see the 'masters' of
art!”
The
crowd was becoming angry. They didn't want the picture of The Son.
They wanted the more worthy investments for their collections. Then
the auctioneer pounded his gavel...“Going once, twice...SOLD for
$10.” A man sitting in the second row now shouted, “Now, let's
get on with the collection! That's why we're here!” The auctioneer
laid down his gavel, “I'm sorry, the auction is over.”
“What
about the paintings?” “I am sorry,” stated the auctioneer,
“when I was called to conduct the auction, I was told of a secret
stipulation in the will. I was not allowed to reveal that stipulation
until this time. Only the painting of 'The Son' would be auctioned.
Whoever bought that painting would inherit the entire
estate...including the paintings. The man who took 'The Son' gets
everything. The auction is ended and closed.”
God
gave his son over 2,000 years ago to die on the Cross.
Much
like the auctioneer, His message today is:
'The
Son, The Son, who'll take The Son?'
(Because,
you see, whoever takes The Son, gets everything.)
For
God so loved the world, He gave his only begotten Son;
Who
so ever believeth in Him, shall have eternal life...
That's
Love...John 3:16.
Swedish
Ceremony Gives Closure to Family of Hamilton 'Hero Pilot'
Mark McNeil of The Hamilton Spectator published this story Sept. 26,
2015:
A heart-warming colour photo of the two sisters holding a
heart-shaped wreath
to place on ocean waters off Sweden's coast.
More
than 100 people came out in a tiny Swedish coastal hamlet to
commemorate a Second World War bomber pilot from Hamilton who died 'a
hero' 70 years ago. The September 19th
ceremony in Torso in the southern part of the Scandinavian country
honoured 21-year old William Blake, who died on April 23, 1944 after
ordering his crew to parachute from his severely damaged 'Halifax
plane.' Then he steered the bomber away from land, so as not to
injure civilians below, crashing into the sea.
At
the ceremony, one person recalled seeing the distressed bomber flying
very close to the ground. “He talked about standing on the roof of
a building at the time and was blown by the intense turbulence,”
said Jennifer Blake, a niece of the pilot who travelled to Sweden to
attend the ceremony. “It was a weekend I will never forget. It
changes you,” Blake said after returning to Canada. She said the
host of the ceremony, Jan Landin, a retired captain in the Swedish
Air Force, told the story of an airman's jacket button that had been
kept all these years. “After hearing the sound of a horrible
crash,”he said in a transcript of his speech, “a local boy on a
bicycle came upon an airman who was walking out of a forested area.
The airman was one of the six who parachuted to safety...who asked
the boy if he was in
Sweden,
which the young man confirmed. The airman wanted to give him his
flashlight, but the young man was afraid to take it. Then the airman
gave him a button...and this is the one (showing it to the crowd).
In the button, there is a compass. The young man took him to a house
where he knew the family had a telephone.”
William
Blake and his crew were on a mission to drop mines in the waters near
the coast of German-occupied Norway when they came under enemy fire.
After being hit, Blake managed to steer the plane away, knowing it
was too severely damaged to return to England...and set course for
Sweden.
A
few weeks before the ceremony, divers confirmed the location of the
crash. And, as part of the ceremony, Jennifer Blake, her sister
Christine Watson...with their husbands and niece Carolyn Baker...were
taken to the spot on the water where they laid a wreath. Baker used
her smartphone and through Skype, was able to send real-time-video
images of the ceremony to William Blake's only surviving brother,
Richard, 96, who now lives in Guelph, Ontario...who commented, “It
was very moving to see the actual spot in the water and to think two
of my daughters were there placing a wreath on the water to
commemorate William. It brought 'closure' to me.”
Merle
Baird-Kerr...written November 1, 2015
No comments:
Post a Comment