I think if we were honest, in our younger days, the stories of our grandparents, maybe even our parents about the “olden days” don’t really seem relevant to us. It seems too far away, too distant and we think mostly if not exclusively about the future. 10 year olds think about being 12, and 20 year olds want to be 30, and 40 year olds want to retire. It is the nature of life or at least the nature of the current age to think about the future more than the past.

But then something happens. I am not sure when it happens, but a growing sense that the past matters grows within us, and it grows in the reflection that we have on it. And we begin to realize that the past isn’t such a long time ago.

Think about this – the end of WW2, 1945, was only 11 years behind my parents when I was born in Calgary. That’s like talking about 2014 now. Time and events have their own relationships with our memory.

This picture, which came via my Mom, shows a moment in time when the Hillhurst Corps was focused on “Youth Year”. It’s 1956 or 57….right, Mom? And that is a lifetime ago, right? And 1955 to 2025 is 70 years…..now think of this. Going backwards, 70 years before 1955 would take you to 1880!! Wow.

The generations pass by quickly.

And speaking of generations, this photo, which I grabbed from Facebook, is of Tracey and Chris Tidd. We’ve known Chris from the time he was 3 or 4. Near Philip’s age, he was originally in the Canadian Armed Forces and served in some hazardous areas of the world. And here he is now, an ordained Anglican Priest. Of course, I couldn’t post this without a mention to Floyd, who talked to me so many times about his concerns for Chris. I’m sure that they were all thinking about Floyd this day.