On the DEWLine 2.0: Dwight Williams

From A Charlie Brown Christmas, as performed by this trio led by the last survivor of the old Vince Guaraldi Trio for CBC Music:

It's the day after Remembrance, and the day is grey and wet. I was expecting the day itself to be that way, and there was that brief bout of rain running from 930 to 1030 AM, but it didn't stick around.

We didn't get the helicopter squadron flying over the square this time. That was part of the changes that I found welcome. The most obvious part, in fact.

The last part of the ending, the part called the "Vice-Regal Party Departure" - which unofficially includes the Prime Ministerial party, truth be known - was far more relaxed. Sure, they made for the north-side "back door" of the War Memorial, but there were those crowds, so the new guy did his meet-and-greet thing. Which lasted close to a quarter-hour so far as I know. If you watched the ceremonies on TV or the Net, you might have a better idea of the exact time elapsed before they finally got into their cars.

No, I didn't go to look at all the wreaths this time out. After three hours' standing, I needed to just sit for a few minutes and then made my way up to the Peacekeepers' Monument. And then slowly back down to the Rideau Centre for lunch...and then off to Beechwood Cemetery. My family's got a plot in the Cremation Gardens, so I've got a nice and convenient excuse for visiting on a semi-regular basis.

But no. I wanted to do a walking tour of the place, west to east, and had been wanting it for a couple of years. Much of this was due to pure historical and design curiosity. The first excuse was to see the grave of Peter Henderson Bryce, whose death may have gone relatively unremarked when it happened. But there's the story of how he argued with Duncan Campbell Scott over the fate of kids forced into the Indian Residential Schools who'd come down with tuberculosis.

The story is better told by Charlie Angus, MP and musician. Or maybe Cindy Blackstock. Simply put, Dr. Bryce was a whistleblower and a hero. Neither he nor those he defended got the respect that was their right at the time.

From there, I wandered at whim through the rest of the cemetery, taking pictures as it suited me. I may post some of them on Flickr some day...

Today was his birthday.

Thanks again, sir.

I heard the news via sdelmonte and a few other sources earlier tonight.

I only met him the once. My father drove me down to Dover for a preliminary interview at the school. It was a short trip. Three days, maybe four. I'm not sure at this point. It was a good thing to have gone on that trip.

Rest well, sir. And thanks for taking the time for a kid from Saskatchewan.

Never got to meet this gentleman, but there's another piece of my youth gone...

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/story/2011/04/16/sk-blakeney-dies-110416.html

Requiescat in pace, Mr. Blakeney.

budgie_uk pointed out this out to me: that one may become apathetic enough from time to time, due to living and working in a given nation's capital, that they don't get around to appreciating the landmarks that others from across the planet may find themselves drawn to visit for whatever reasons. He also ran through a list of notable sites around London that he's either visited or not gotten around to yet.

So...a partial list of what I've visited so far.

Parliament Hill: I've visited the Centre Block twice in my life so far, both times - sad to say - for funereal rites.

The first was in 1979. My parents had brought my siblings and I on a "working vacation" of Dad's across the country from Saskatchewan to PEI and back home again through the States. That was the year John Diefenbaker died, and our first-ever visit to Ottawa coincided with his lying in state in the Centre Block. So: my first encounter with Parliament Hill, any Prime Minister and with a dead person all at the tail end of my pre-teen years.

The second visit inside the Centre Block was decades later, after we moved to Ottawa permanently. It was, of course, for Pierre Trudeau's memory. I stood in line for most of the day before paying my respects.

One of these years, I want to visit the Centre Block for something other than funereal rites. It would be good to be able to sit in the visitors' gallery while the House of Commons is in session at least the once.

The national museums: So far, I've visited the Museums of Nature, Science and Technology, Aviation(Thanks for the reminder re: that one, rintaran!) , War, and Civiiization. Trying to remember which ones I've yet to get around to.

National Mint: Haven't done the tour yet - is there one on offer? - but I've visited the gift shop.

Chateau Laurier: My first visit was for one of Creation's Trek shows. Same for my second. Which is how I got to see James Doohan and George Takei live in person. At least one subsequent visit introduced me to writer Gwynne Dyer, an author I respect.

National Gallery: Seen a few of the exhibits, and I enjoy looking at Maman in the front courtyard and visiting the bookstore when I can. The former may not be unique to Ottawa, but she does lend something to the city that I'd hate to lose. (Thanks for the memory refresher, ms_danson!)

Landmarks I've yet to see?

Diefenbunker: This particular Cold War relic - now repurposed as a museum of that conflict - tops my list.

There are others in both "visited" and "not yet" categories, and I'm going to have to revisit this entry as the years go by...

Does anyone remember whether this was one of the movie theatres in Saskatoon that showed Return of the Jedi? I remember seeing it in that city, but can't recall which theatre?