09-01 1940
One uncle with the RCMP protecting the shipyards in Halifax is hit over the head and later dies of a brain tumour. Another uncle is rescued at Dunkirk. It is hard to imagine that a seven-year-old, which was me, would be so taken up by the issues of war and peace. But so many things…
09-02 The Suez Crisis
Israel, Britain and France invade Egypt. Lester Pearson of Canada suggests a peace-keeping force to the UN. And he wins the Nobel Peace Prize. It was 1956, and I am a newly graduated engineer under training as a lubrication engineer with Imperial Oil, but emotionally dragged into the drama referred to as the Suez Crisis….
09-03 The Movies
The movie, The Longest Day, tells the story of the invasion of France. Love WW2 movies. You always know the good guys from the bad guys. It was 1949 and I am 16 years of age. And I’m not supposed to go to the movies or listen to the radio. Plymouth Brethren religious stuff. But…
09-04 Conflict or Challenge
Mass migration. Climate change. Challenges if not faced become conflict. Nothing impacted my thinking about the future more than the Syrian refugee crisis and Germany’s decision to admit massive numbers. Migration is going to be the source of a great deal of conflict when global warming makes so many parts of the world uninhabitable. I…