I spent a few hours of Veteran's Day at Arlington Cemetary. It was quiet and sad, as most cemetaries tend to be, but more so because of the memorials to t"our most Honored dead" in Arlington.

I went to John F. Kennedy's grave, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the memorial to the U.S.S. Maine, and I finished with the monumnet to the astronauts who died in the Challenger explosion (a very odd monument to be sure, the artist was very *expressionistic* in his haute relief carvings of the astronauts' faces).

I visited a monument to the members of the Canadian military who died in World War II. There was a brief ceremony attended by Canadian paratroopers and a chaplain. A Canadian bugler played what I can only assume was a Canadian version of "Taps."

Yep, nothing like being reminded of Canadians when I'm already sullen.

In the evening, I rested and pondered my life. I'm happy here, but not too happy. The training is INCREDIBLY dull. I fight to stay awake during the day. I hope that when this phase is over, my Mandarin Chinese training is more colorful. At least it will be challenging.

But this is a day for mourning.

AND LOSS