The Skinny on Real Estate

When I was little (okay, when I was younger) my grandpa always tied one of those poppies, you’d often see the VFW vets passing out at the grocery store, to the rear view mirror on his car.

I can’t say that I specifically understood the symbolism behind the poppy until recently. (At this point my dad would say, “Didn’t they teach you that in school?????) Apparently a Canadian surgeon who was serving in the war wrote a poem entitled In Flander’s Fields in 1915 after the death of his friend. Soldiers were buried in Flander’s Field where the poppies flourished.It appears that the wearing of the poppy is more popular in Canada and the UK, and that they wear them prominently on Remembrance Day in November when we celebrate Veterans Day here. I rarely see the veterans passing out poppies any more. I’m not sure why. Perhaps it’s just not PC enough. (Google “poppy fields and soldiers” and you get a bunch of stuff about destroying the poppy fields in Afghanistan – we tend to be squeamish about that whole drug thing.) And it seems as if we like the colored ribbons here better anyway. (Although with everyone trying to appropriate this color or that color for their cause I think it just ends up diluting the meaning behind it, after all, who can remember which color belongs to whom?)

Anywho, according to this particular story, the author of In Flander’s Fields said upon his death, “Tell them this. If ye break the faith with us who die we shall not sleep.”

So on this Memorial Day as you remember to thank the fallen who helped keep this amazing country free, and you honor those who currently serve, consider helping out the veterans or soldiers or their families in some manner and if you’re not sure how, you may want to use one of these organizations listed below. You can donate money, send a care package, write a letter, sew a blanket, make a phone call and so on.

P.S. And yes Grandpa, wherever you are, in that great big mechanic’s garage in the sky, I still keep a poppy tied to my rearview mirror.

Soldier’s Angelshttp://www.soldiersangels.org/

This group’s goal is to provide aid and comfort to the military and their families. Send letters, cards, and care packages to your soldier. They’re hoping for weekly letters and monthly packages. They also feature special team projects including a letter writing team where you need to commit to one letter per week for 3 months to your assigned soldiers. They also have teams that make sewing projects, send treats especially for Iraqi children and teams that help care for military families here at home.

US Troops Care Packagehttp://www.ustroopcarepackage.com/

Sends care packages to troops. You can either send them money to help offset the cost of these packages or you can send things to put in the packages. They need personal care items, snacks, and clothes as well as some sewing and knitting projects for those of you with the crafty gene.

Click on the “Donations” link to determine where you can send financial contributions or items purchased/made for soldiers.

Adopt a US Soldierhttp://www.adoptaussoldier.org/

Send letters and care packages to US soldiers. This particular site recommends including a self-addressed (no stamp necessary!) envelope back to yourself to make it easier for the soldier to write back.

All sites require registration.

(photo courtesy of www.freephotosbank.com)