IT'S THAT DREADED WEEKEND AGAIN

It is that weekend again when all of TV

is showing movies about war

and the fallout from war.

Documentaries about soldiers and armies

and what happens

to those who go to war

and those who survive,

and those who don't;

those who are left behind to wait,

and those who are just left behind.

It is not the weekend when

Canadians celebrate their war heroes,

nor is it close to the time when we

remember and honour our war dead.

But you cannot live this close

to the most powerful nation

on earth,

and not be affected by the goings-on

below our shared border,

especially as much of the time

we share the same conflicts.

So, here it is Memorial Day weekend

again and all about me

are stories of the body bags

arriving from Afghanistan—still—

even though the Americans are in the

midst of withdrawing their troops,

the same as we are.

And I can't help wondering if we

—and they—have not squandered

an awful lot of blood— ie.personnel—

not to mention, time and money,

on another losing cause.

As much as I know this is a weekend

to celebrate the brave men and women

who protect the rest of us, and our way of life

by going off to war, especially those,

that make that much talked about

but too often not thought about

"ultimate sacrifice", I still find myself enraged,

so much so, I can hardly stand to think about it

for one more minute.

And still, and still...

My fondness for all things Italian

wins out and I find myself ensconced before my television

and for the umpteenth time glued to "Tea with Mussolini".

After all, is there anything more soul-restoring than the scene

in that movie, near the end when the passel of old ladies

defy the Nazis by plastering themselves against the towers of San Gimignano

so the retreating soldiers can't make a last-ditch attempt to bomb them

to dust, as the allies are marching across Tuscany?

Sigh, no, I don't suppose there is...