The Christmas Truce

My anniversary lilies are opening up..a symbol of peace
Lilies are my favorite flower. I was told I'd have lots of daylilies and Asiatic lilies at my new place

Naomi sign in progress by street artist

We've been going through old photos lately. This one of Naomi while she was in high school on top of the Empire State building is one of my favorites. She is holding a street artist's rendition of her name that her uncle had just  had made for her

The name is still in her old room. Note twin towers to the left
 

Recently I read of the Christmas Truce that occurred between British and German soldiers along the front lines in 1914. Most of the time was spent in trenches with just short outbreaks of gunfire. Why were these young men trying to kill each other? They had so much in common. They started sending messages to each other. Maybe they both should be fighting the French instead who both countries had a long history of fighting against? The higher-ups were gone for the holidays. A truce was proposed. Soldiers from both sides entered  the No Mans Land between the fronts to play soccer and exchange gifts. The good feelings generated continued beyond the holidays. They would not shoot soldiers retrieving bodies; they would not shoot at food supply trucks. There were warnings from each side that when the higher-ups returned, fighting would have to be more intense.

Truces were proposed for the following Christmases but by then, they started to have real reasons for enmity. Poison gas had been introduced into the trenches. Unforgiveable losses started to add up.

Could any of this happen today? I think not. War is much dirtier. "Enemies' do not share a culture. How many of you know the difference between the Shia and Sunni branches of Islam?  I know that there is a big enough difference that makes them want to kill each other.

One advantage of the impending move is me wanting to make winter stand still instead of rush by. So much to do. And so far, winter has been mild, in the 40s for today and tomorrow (hopefully my now flat tire can be fixed for me to enjoy it). While our guests were here, Steve went through boxes and boxes of 40+ year old instamatics to find childhood pictures of his family. They were buried amongst lots of faded waterfront photos. I proposed these be discarded and only the family ones be kept. No way, every faded out of focus sunset shot needs to be kept. You can see how much fun this move will be with him unwilling to part with anything. Part of our Xmas presents was a huge supply of moving boxes. Can't wait to put them together and fill them (not!!!).

Remember when Maya was bald? Her 'fro' these days: