November 9, 2006
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1 In the middle of writing this piece last night, I heard word that the 49ers were leaving San Francisco. I was born a 49er fan, never given the choice, so this was pretty earth-shaking news to me. I was crestfallen, bewildered, and out of all sorts of sorts. I already was spinning and reeling about the A’s, and now this. Imagine Candlestick Park all alone out there with just the howling winds and the ghost voices of the bay.
2 As Paul Harvey put it, there go the Olympics.
3 Ah, those are the sacrifices one makes.
4 Moving on: Monday I was handed some way jingoistic Veteran’s Day CD by the Boss, and was asked to write something up for the morning bulletin. That just borders on political, and as anyone knows, I’m very apolitical. No opinions outta this boy. No sirree.
5 Well, of course I balked. It isn’t that I have a thing against Veteran’s Day, but I do have a huge challenge with the day moving away from it’s original intention, which was to celebrate the Armistice at the end of World War I. Here is the text of what I shall read this morning:
6 According to Wikipedia, Armistice Day was “The anniversary of the official end of World War I, November 11, 1918. It commemorates the Armistice signed between the Allies and Germans…for the cessation of hostilities on the Western Front, which took effect at 11 o’ clock in the morning, the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month.”
7 Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. in his introduction to Breakfast of Champions, had this to say about that moment in our history:
“It was during that minute in nineteen hundred and eighteen, that millions upon millions of human beings stopped butchering one and another. I have talked to old men who were on battlefields during that minute. They have told me in one way or another that the sudden silence was the voice of God. So we still have among us some men who can remember when God spoke clearly to mankind.”
8 The reason we have tomorrow off school is that we are honoring all of our Veteran’s who have been on those battlefields, many of whom had hoped or dreamed of hearing the voice of God. Many never did. All of them wanted that sort of peace.
9 Look up at the clock this morning at 11 a.m. and stop for a minute and think of the intention of this solemn day, November 11. Think and honor all those who have lost their lives in senseless wars, and of the sadness many of them have carried with them. Think of the families of all who have sacrificed so much in these endeavors. Think also of the hopes and dreams of Armistice Day, the moment that all soldiers on the Western Front of World War I heard all the bombs suddenly stop, and on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, the true wish of all soldiers occurred: a true peace, and a new hope for all of mankind. Dedicate a moment of your day today to that reflection.
10 That’s about it in terms of today’s DN. It’s actually a dress rehearsal AND a script for what I will be reading on the bulletin this fine morning.
11 It’s a nice piece, but not as good as the complete text of the Vonnegut intro, which carries with it a bit more Truth. This will be the third year in a row that I have shared this memorable piece with the DN readers. Please enjoy, and take it with you into the weekend.
12 Note: Vonnegut’s reference to 1922 was a reference to his own birthday, and not an historical inaccuracy. Duly delivered.
13 Here is the remainder of his lovely words about Armistice Day, repeated again especially for the DN readership. Hope you appreciate these amazing words:
So this book is a sidewalk strewn with junk, trash which I throw over my shoulders as I travel in time to November eleventh, nineteen hundred and twenty-two.
I will come to a time in my backwards trip when November eleventh, accidentally my birthday, was a sacred day called Armistice Day. When I was a boy, all the people of all the nations which had fought in the First World War were silent during the eleventh minute of the eleventh hour of Armistice Day, which was the eleventh day of the eleventh month.
It was during that minute in nineteen hundred and eighteen, that millions upon millions of human beings stopped butchering one and another. I have talked to old men who were on battlefields during that minute. They have told me in one way or another that the sudden silence was the voice of God. So we still have among us some men who can remember when God spoke clearly to mankind.
Armistice Day has become Veterans’ Day. Armistice Day was sacred. Veterans’ day is not.
So I will throw Veterans’ Day over my shoulder. Armistice Day I will keep. I don’t want to throw away any sacred things.
What else is sacred? Oh, Romeo and Juliet, for instance.
And all music is.
Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. Breakfast of Champions
That’s it.
Peace.
~H~
http://www.xanga.com/bharrington
