"Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle."

Yesterday a friend told me that the bank of Montreal stopped recognizing holidays.

Many other organizations and businesses have done the same as we know, and some I even might agree with. Some things just aren't "in" or politically correct in the eyes of some these days.

I was told specifically that "allegedly" they stopped recognizing Remembrance day and I certainly hope that is not true. If it is true it deeply saddens me. I really hope my friend is wrong .

Without getting too deeply into things here I would like to share an article I saw this morning in the Washington Post on brain injuries, war and Afghanastan. It is an American article but it really illustrates how difficult living with a brain injury can be and just how truly awful and absolutely devastating some can be.

The article is here

My friends and loved ones who know me well know that I have a few causes that I have a real soft spot for and one of them is Veterans, and more specifically PTSD.

This article doesn't speak of PTSD, but Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is a brain injury as well, and you don't have to be serving overseas to have it. The walking wounded are all around us. Some diagnosed and many not, and we are in this world together.

Brain injuries aren't always obvious but can be a real challenge for the person (s) having them and their loved ones on a daily basis (and thats an understatement). It is important to remember that trauma changes the brain as well. There are the obvious brain injuries from shrapnel and explosions(as in the article), car accidents, falls, and brain tumours and surgeries, but trauma changes the brain as well. I just wanted to share this article in light of Remembrance Day coming up next month. I know it's difficult to read (I have a box of kleenex in front of me as I type), but it's real life.

Lets all be very kind to each other whenever possible. And I really hope to see you at the Cenotaph next month on Remembrance Day. I know I'll be there again.