The Poppy Selling Superthread- Merged

[Danjanou]

Its actually Terry Kelly who has the song " A Pittance of Time"

EDITED TO ADD some backstory to the song...

On November 11, 1999 Terry Kelly was in a drug store in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. At 10:55 AM an announcement came over the store’s PA asking customers who would still be on the premises at 11:00 AM to give two minutes of silence in respect to the veterans who have sacrificed so much for us.


Terry was impressed with the store’s leadership role in adopting the Legion’s “two minutes of silence” initiative. He felt that the store’s contribution of educating the public to the importance of remembering was commendable.

When eleven o’clock arrived on that day, an announcement was again made asking for the “two minutes of silence” to commence. All customers, with the exception of a man who was accompanied by his young child, showed their respect.

Terry’s anger towards the father for trying to engage the store’s clerk in conversation and for setting a bad example for his child was channeled into a beautiful piece of work called, “A Pittance of Time”. Terry later recorded “A Pittance of Time” and included it on his full-length music CD, “The Power of the Dream”.

A link to the song and video

http://www.terry-kelly.com/pittance/pittance_en.htm#

 

[mariomike]

"Poppy pin draws Legion's fire:
Demand to stop sale 'shocks' credit union:
Dominion Command of the Royal Canadian Legion has threatened to take legal action against a Cobourg-area credit union for distributing lapel pins depicting the Highway of Heroes sign, which incorporates the image of a poppy.":
http://www.torontosun.com/news/torontoandgta/2009/11/05/11640601-sun.html

 

[kratz]

That is no different than the poppy pins sold at the Quebec Citadel gift shop. They used to donate the money to the Legion, but the clerk mentioned they stopped doing that in 2008. So I did not buy one of the pins.

 

[Danjanou]

There are some higher up members of the RCL that need to pull their collective heads out of their fifth points of contacts.

The pin is nice, the guy in Coburg is ex CF (RHLI), and the monies are going to the appropriate place, I know I'm a broke down old grunt and went to higher reading and riting school in Nfld  but I don't see the problem here. All this does is make the Legion look as bad as Scotia Bank and Home Dept etc. fro their respective screwing of the pooch.

Mind I'm not surprised 95% of the members of my branch are not out poppying this year and I'm advised that's normal. I relieved an 80+ Second World War Vet at Walmart and had no problem doing a couple of hours there after work. Dropped my box off at the branch after on my way home to late supper and noticed the branch full of associate and affiliate members too busy to stand at a mall for an hour, but not too busy for a couple of wobbly pops and a game of snooker. :

The Branch executive doesn't see this as a n issue mind. they're more concerned iwth the bun fiight they're having with another branch on who gets the right to put someone in a certain mall, irregardless of the fact neither branch has the warm bodies to do so. Petty people with big egos it appears are everywhere.

 

[CountDC]

What about us Young(ish) war vets?  Have you asked us?

Nope.  At the time there were no young war vets and since talking to the old ones I realized that a lot of the changes over the years has done nothing but turn it into another holiday for a lot of people. I would even bet I could go through PMQs and find military members not attending ceremonies. As one Blackwatch vet pointed out in 87 - they told us we were fighting for freedom then why are people trying to take the freedom away?

 

[old medic]

Tim Hortons poppy box robbed by 3 teens
By DON PEAT, SUN MEDIA
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Crime/2009/11/05/11646936-sun.html

Halton Regional Police have nabbed three teens that robbed donations out of an Oakville, Ont., poppy box.

Around 12:30 a.m. Sunday the trio were inside a Dundas St. W. Tim Hortons when they grabbed the Royal Canadian Legion box from the counter.

One of the teens took the box into the store's washroom where they took out the cash and threw out the box, police said.

Staff found the box inside the washroom and called police.

Officers reviewed the store's surveillance tape that included audio of the teens planning the theft.

The force's high school liaison officer identified the three teens and investigators were able to make the arrest, police said.

Three 16-year-old Oakville teens are charged with theft under $5,000.

They'll appear in a Milton court Dec. 17.

 

[CountDC]

of course they will get a slap on the wrist and sent home to mommy who will be crying how her little johnny is a good boy, she doesn't understand, he must have been involved because he was scared of the other ones, etc.  I'm sure we all know the routine.

 

[mariomike]

"Legion burns cookies: Bakery told to nix poppy tribute: First it was the Highway of Heroes pins shunned and now the Royal Canadian Legion feels the baking of poppy cookies is violating the rules, too.":
http://www.torontosun.com/news/columnists/joe_warmington/2009/11/06/11653971-sun.html

 

[CountDC]

should never have given them a blanket copyright.  They should only have the right to the pins that they make and sell each year.  Next they will be sueing anyone growing poppies.

 

[tango22a]

I have in my possession a small gilt metal poppy pin that was purchased by me at a Legion booth in a mall in London ON. I have been told that I should NOT wear this pin at any time. I have been told that I should only wear the Poppy sold by the Legion, and only at the prescribed time set by the Legion.

As a member I have discovered that the Legion has become very slanted towards Associate Members and is viewed as a social club designed for their benefit.


tango22a

 

[Danjanou]

As a member I have discovered that the Legion has become very slanted towards Associate Members and is viewed as a social club designed for their benefit.
tango22a

Yup noticed the same in my Branch and have decided as one of the few Ordinary Members there not in Sunnybrook or a long term care facilliity to do something about it. The wife said I needed a new hobby so being the new Branch shite disturber it is.

They get away with it much like our political "leaders" using public apathy and ignoranace. Most of out branch don't attend meetings and take as gospel whatever the executive/zone etc tell them because they don't know better and can't be bothered to check it out. All their policies, proceedures, protocols, by laws etc are on line and avialble and make for interesting reading.

I've discovered gaps in how we do things at my branch big enough to drive my old M-113 through.  Now to have some fun with it.  >

 

[vonGarvin]

I think it's time for the Afghan War Veterans' Association to be started, much like the Korea Vets' Association (KVA).  We'll take Red Fridays and make them ours, but we'll let anyone wear red on Friday.

[/sarcasm]

 

[Kat Stevens]

And I'll start the Cold War Germany Veterans Association;  Copyright on beer, schnapps, schnitzel, bratwurst, and 15 year old BMWs and Jettas.

 

[Edward Campbell]

Old Sweat and I have already formed the NDHQ Veterans' Association.

We have our own motto: "If the boss call, get his name!" and our own salute, too:

.

We want the rights to confusion, idleness and coffee breaks and we want a new decoration for paper cuts suffered in the line of duty.

 

[Danjanou]

And I'll start the Cold War Germany Veterans Association;  Copyright on beer, schnapps, schnitzel, bratwurst, and 15 year old BMWs and Jettas.

I'm in can we make the Branch look like Tiffs?

 

[the 48th regulator]

That's it,

I am Starting the "Military under the Liberals, so we were a broke Military" Veteran.

I am going to muscle in on all of the Legions, and shake them down....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0avctOqaZgA

dileas

tess

 

[1feral1]

should never have given them a blanket copyright.  They should only have the right to the pins that they make and sell each year.  Next they will be sueing anyone growing poppies.

From a 50 yr old Veteran - me!

Canada is not the only country to use the poppy as a national symbol of remembering war dead, as we use them here, also the UK and in NZ.

If the Canadian Legion poppy design is in question, and thats the copyright, well change the design to be used by others.

If they think they own the overall 'poppy' symbol, well their wrong and their arrogance shines through.

I say shame on the RCL for having such a snotty nosed pi$$ poor attitude.

Afterall its about awareness and rememberance isn't it?

Anyone who goes out of their way to remember or promote awareness of veterans is doing the right thing.

OWDU
Iraq Vet 2006-2007

 

[1feral1]

Here is the Aussie poppy, and another pic of the memorial wall at Canberra's Australian War Memorial.

Regards,

OWDU

 

[Danjanou]

Ok numerous jokes aside, the common thread here is that a once proud organization the Royal Canadian Legion has turned into some petty, spiteful, egotistical clique of wannabes, and hangers on who’ve adorned themselves with titles. 

The warriors ain’t there anymore. The Korea Vets Association, the Honk Kong Vets, the NATO Vets, The Peacekeepers Vets, the ANAF etc making a nice rainbow of blazers on Nov 11th. Adding to the splinter groups isn’t the answer.

The Legion was built by us, soldiers, sailors, airmen, warriors. Many of us have blood relations as well as Regimental (Corps) Family, who after Vimy, the Somme, Ypres etc decided to build an organization that would allow something good to come from all that, and help them take care of their own.  Later their sons/daughters would join after Dieppe, Ortona, Juno, Breskin, for the same reason.

Many, most, of them are gone and us that followed for whatever reasons didn’t join. Hell I was eligible for both Ordinary Membership and/or Associate Membership circa 1977 and didn’t join until 2008. End result the relatives and then others with no connections tot he miltitary ended up running the show and look what they’ve done with it. They never served; we did, the traditions, ceremonies, and the reasoning behind them often mean nothing to them, passed on by rote, out, minimized, bastardized and/or forgotten. The reason for the organization appears to be gone, although they may pay lip service to it.

It’s ours, we the collective group that at one time stood uncomfortable in new boots and uniform far away from home and perhaps a little scared at what was to come. We that collectively wrote a blank cheque to our Government for anything up to and including our lives. We that gave a few years, or many years, or in some cases so much more.

We can bitch and whine about it, hey that’s a soldiers prerogative, or we can take it back. Join or rejoin, not like they can refuse you membership is it. We do that and someday that little clique that thinks being a member involves just paying $45.00 a year and sitting around drinking cheap beer and playing cards will never know what hit them. We’ll be running the place again from the smallest branch up to the top and crap like this won’t be tolerated. 

 

[mellian]

Is there a safety pin version of the Poppy anywhere? Every time I wear one, I tend to injure myself with it in some way like stabbing myself on the chest, scratching my arms while taking off my coat or purse/backpack, etc.