Personal

I told you it was spreading. This was in my inbox from the Conservative Party of Canada. I’ll be there with a red and white umbrella (in case the rain forecasted shows up) and my camcorder.

The wives of two men serving in the Canadian Forces have started a grassroots effort to send a message to our soldiers.

The concept of wearing something red – whether a red shirt, jacket, cap, bandana or whatever – every Friday is meant to let the soldiers and their spouses and children know they are not alone.

We appreciate the sacrifices they are making on our behalf. We thank them for their service to our country and their fight for peace and justice wherever in the world they are sent.

With that in mind, a massive public rally is being planned for “Red Friday”. This is a non-partisan, non-political rally in support of Canadian troops and their families:

* Friday Sept 22, 2006
* Parliament Hill, Ottawa
* 12:00 Noon – 1:00 PM

Police officers, firefighters, city staff, politicians of all stripes, OC Transpo staff, paramedics, United Way workers, private businesspeople and the general public will join a colourful parade of veterans as they show respect and thanks in a very public way.

PLEASE SHARE THIS WITH EVERYONE ON YOUR CONTACT LIST. HELP SPREAD THE WORD, AND WEAR RED THIS FRIDAY!

For more information on supporting our troops, visit http://www.marriedtothecanadianforces.com

Yesterday I wore red again. I also noticed that instead of 1 in perhaps 100 wearing red, I saw perhaps 1 in 20 wearing red. I had to make a beeline down to the Richmond Fair yesterday to drop off some things for our EDA booth and noticed the gatekeepers wearing red and asked them if it was Richmond Fair attire or for Red Fridays and both gatekeepers responded it was for Red Fridays.

My wife and I both were wearing red when we went out for our usual Friday night dinner (which happened to double as T-Bone’s birthday dinner – He turned 14 yesterday) and I noticed that on average there was one person in each family wearing red. My wife says that people just wear red, but I couldn’t help noticing it was usually an elderly person or the male in the family wearing red. It may have been a coincidence, but I would rather guess that people are catching on to this idea here in Ottawa.

Next Friday at Noon is the big gettogether on Parliament Hill from noon until 1pm. I wish the kids were out of school so I could bring them down with me, but instead I will try to hook up with a couple of other bloggers for the gathering and a late lunch.

On that note, if anyone in the Ottawa area is going to be down at the Richmond Fair, stop by the Conservative Party booth. I will be there from 9am until 1230pm today. (don’t forget to bring me a double double!!)

Well today was a fun day. While driving to the office I noticed a few others wearing red in cars while waiting at … ahem … red lights. I nodded to a couple and tugged at my red sweatshirt. I got a smile and a nod back.

I actually wore a nicer red Roots pullover to work and the sweatshirt below while out to dinner with the family tonight. I also managed to finagle a red ribbon magnet for the back of my truck today. When they told me they only had French ones left, I told them I didn’t care and that we are a bilingual country.

Call after call to Lowell Green’s show were supportive of the Red Fridays today. Lowell and his folks were working frantically to get prepped for setting up a Red Friday on Parliament Hill to get an aeriel photo of a sea of red to send to the troops.

I noticed today that Matt at A Step To The Right has jumped on board, but when I saw a comment from Shere at Dust My Broom, it really made my day.

There is a call going (or already gone) from CFRA in Ottawa to a radio talk show host in Calgary and I suspect next week this whole Red Friday thing will be across the country.

For those who ask “Why not Yellow?”, the response I heard today was that the yellow ribbon is a welcome home ribbon for soldiers. The Red Ribbon/Red Friday campaign is just a way we are showing support to the soldiers and their families. It is likened to friends shaving their heads to show support for a friend with cancer.

if your heart goes out to the families of the soldiers overseas, then wearing red on Fridays is the way for you to show it. Wear your heart on your sleeve.