REMEMBER IN NOVEMBER
Popping the Zeiss on, I went out on Remembrance Day for a while. I needed the fresh air and the bright sunlight was providing inspiration, or Vitamin D. Either or. Does it matter?
Suffice to say, the poignant ceremonies were still beautiful, and brought back memories of my days as an Air Cadet. Though, I don't recall ever having such great weather when I was in a Remembrance Day ceremony. My memories were of being in Honour Guard, standing at the unfortunately shaded corner of the cenotaph in Newmarket, on a day that was just above freezing, muttering in my head, asking myself "Why did I volunteer for Honour Guard this time?" I at least, got in the paper... sort of. I was a blur of bokeh in the background of a shot taken of my fellow cadet.
There have been days where I have wondered to myself... Should I go back? Should I become a CI for a local squadron? In this case, the local squadron, just happens to be the one that are in the following pictures: 330 Danforth Tech.
In this picture here, are what I imagine are the co-captains of the squadron. Not sure which was commanding officer, but I have a feeling it was the woman. Supposedly, a memo from above a few years ago decided to do away with the rank of Major in the Air Cadet system. I would venture a guess that thanks to that, there are many squadrons out there now with 2 or more captains. Without the ability to be promoted further, I wonder if some have left the Air Cadet system to further pursue their careers, gunning for that rank of Major.
To those that do, I give nothing but respect. You went in wanting to lead young men and women, and you're setting the example for the next generation.
*salutes* :)
One thing is for sure though... in my Cadet days, we never had cool jackets like those.
We had either our standard tunic, which we wore almost all of the time except in the summer, or the heavy overcoat that was for the winter (still wearing the tunic underneath).
Granted, the overcoat did make marching across the frozen tundra of Base Borden somewhat more bearable, but it was only good for when temps were below freezing.
I only wished that we had something a little more stable for marching in snow with, to go along with the overcoat.
After the Parade ended, I mosied on back to my place and thought, "It's nice a sunny today, I should take advantage of the nice blue sky and strong sunlight". So, as a result I started taking pictures of the trees and leaves along the way back. Honey Locusts provided a nice contrast of yellow to the blue sky. While in other spots, the bright sunlight provided amazing illumination for stuff a little more grounded. Hedges, bushes and fallen leaves all provided excellent fodder for shots.
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