I buy at least one poppy pin from the Canadian Legion boxes or the people standing at the door of the grocery store, every year. I like the pin itself and I like supporting the Legion. The real problem is keeping the pins on. Also, not getting stuck by that long pin several times a day.

The solution I have found for both of those is to remove the long, bent pin and replace it with another pin, not from the sewing box but the jewelry box. I have been using a pin I got from an event in my town. It has the name and logo of the city I live in. Another idea is to put something on the end of the long pin to keep it from pricking you. But, this doesn't seem to work as well as taking the pin out and changing it for the short pin.

But, the Legion would prefer people wear the poppy correctly and remember the purpose it was intended for, both of them (fallen soldiers and helping the Legion financially).

So someone (probably more than one by now) came up with the idea of poppy centres. A pin which looks just like the original black centre of the poppy pin. A great idea! You can buy them online, but there will be a lot of orders as November gets close so order ahead.

You can also make your own poppy centre with a little glue and a blank pin from a craft supplies store or one of your own which you don't mind to cover with the black felt poppy centre (the one that comes with the poppy pin) and some glue. Instructables shows how they re-make the poppy pin centre this way. It's a great idea, simple and easy to do.

Did you know...

In 1915,  John McCrae, a doctor serving with the Canadian Forces Artillery, wrote his famous poem, In Flanders Fields. Inspired by McCrae's poem, Moina Michael, an American professor and humanitarian, pledged to wear the flower year round. Anne Guérin, of France,  began to sell handmade cloth poppies for people to wear. She donated money from the sales to help people after the war.

A poppy should be worn on the left side of your body, just over your heart.

The poppy came to Canada as a symbol of remembrance in 1921.

Traditionally, the poppy should not be worn after November 11th. They were meant to be left at the graveside after the ceremony, the moment of silence, on November 11th, at 11:00 AM.

The period of Remembrance is from the last Friday in October until November 11. So you could begin wearing a poppy in October.

If you find a fallen poppy, pick it up. The pins should be worn and disposed of respectfully. I keep mine pinned to a curtain. I don't like throwing them away and they look pretty in a group. I add more to the curtain every year.

The centre of the poppy pin was originally black, but changed to green in the 1980s (which I remember them being). The poppy centre went back to black again in 2002 because the original flowers in France were/ are red with black centres. The green centre was to represent the green fields in France.

There is a campaign, from the Peace Pledge Union, for a white poppy. The white is said to include everyone who suffered during war, the families, civilians, and soldiers. You may see purple poppy pins which represent service animals lost in war.

Take a look at the Poppy Store online, to support our Canadian Legion all year round.

Royal British Legion - In the UK they have a different, paper, poppy pin.

Do you know the old song, The Cat Came Back? Written by Harry S. Miller, Christmas 1893.

I remember it as an old recording sung by a man with a deep voice and it was very haunting. People who went up in balloons never to be seen again. People exploding in mines in thousands of pieces, but the cat came back. It was one of those scary things you just seem to want more of, maybe to find out more, maybe to hear about survivors.

Turns out there are a lot of versions of the song. A lot of differences in the words. It’s a song anyone can add more verses to, because that’s how it has grown. I have found a good selection, some I remember from long ago and some new to me. You could (should) write more. Add to the legend of the cat that kept coming back.

Here are some of those I found, to inspire you:

The First Verse (Two Versions)

Now, old Mr. Johnson had troubles of his own. He had a yellow cat that wouldn’t leave his home! A special plan with deception as the key. One little cat—how hard could it be?

Old Mr. Johnson had trouble all his own He had a yellow cat that wouldn’t leave his home He tried in every way to keep that cat away Took him up to Canada and told him for to stay.

The Chorus

But the cat came back the very next day, The cat came back, we thought he was a goner, The cat came back, he just wouldn’t stay away.

Verses

Now the man around the corner swore he’d kill the cat on sight He loaded up his shotgun with nails and dynamites He waited and he waited for the cat to come around Ninety-seven pieces of the man is all they found.

Now the cat had company out in the back yard Somebody threw a boot and they threw it awful hard Hit the cat behind the ear ever so slight And down came a brick and drove him out of sight but

Gave it to man going up in a balloon Told him for to take it to the man on the Moon The balloon came down about 90 miles away Where he is now, I dare not say.

They gave it to a man going way out west Told him for to take it to the one he loved the best First, the train hit the curve, then it jumped the rail Not a soul was left behind to tell the gruesome tale.

Away across the ocean he did send the cat at last Vessel out alone today taking water fast People all began to pray the boat began to toss A great big gust of wind came by and every soul was lost.

On a telephone wire birds were sitting in a bunch Saw them up there & said he’d have ’em for his lunch Climbed softly up the pole until he reached the top Put his foot upon the wire & it gave him quite a shock.

At last they found a way this cat to really fix They put him in an orange crate on highway 66 Come a ten ton truck with a twenty ton load Scattered pieces of that orange crate miles down the road.

So I put him in a box and I tied it up quite well. I had some fellows help me and I paid them not to tell. We put it in a boxcar, the west-bound 7:10 The train pulled away and was never seen again.

So I took him to the harbour and I put in on a ship. I bid him bon voyage! for that oceanic trip! The captain was obligin’ and glad to help us out Tied him to the anchor so that there could be no doubt!

Some have an ending verse, like this. In some the cat lives and in others it doesn’t.

So Old Mr. Johnson’s story unfolds, A tale about a cat and the story is old. The reason why the cat just couldn’t stay away There were seven little kittens meowing in the hay, so.

My Verses (not as haunting as I’d like, something to work on)

Tied the cat to a brick thought that would do the trick Threw it down an old dry well The story he did not tell.

Sealed the cat in a specimen jar left it in the trunk of an old car The car went through the wreckers but he found him playing checkers

The garage at this house smells like something very old, closed up and forgotten. It’s an interesting smell and I might even like it if I didn’t have allergies and asthma.

It’s the right smell for a tomb. Why are people only buried in garages in movies? Or for less than polite and honest reasons. This garage smells like a place for burying people, keeping them forgotten forever. I could buy a coffin, make sure it is sealed so it doesn’t have that awful rotting meat stench, and be left in this garage for eternity. Or until they bulldoze the house down to build something bigger.

Graveyards seldom ever smell like a place people should be buried in. Why is that?

I like to write about things I think, but not say much.

Writing it down feels like it is becoming part of history, something for the future that I can create and leave of myself. Saying things is transient and leaves you vulnerable and exposed in the moment.

What about you? Are you a talker or a writer, or both?

If you took a magic pill, what would it be for? People think about pills as little things you swallow to cure your problems, usually health problems. A lot can affect your health, mental and physical health.

So think about it, carefully. There is only one pill, one chance at getting the magic right. Of course, you can’t be tricky and say “everything”. The magic pill needs specifics.

Once you figure out what the magic pill will cure – figure out how to do it yourself, in reality. Good luck!