This has been a very trying and emotional week for the entire Country, emotionally and physically drained is about the best way I can put it. It has also been an outpouring of love and support that I have never seen, or experienced before.
In Hamilton I experienced people saying that they have never loved their city and its people so much. At the memorial waterfall illumination we did on Red Friday, people stared in awe and the significance of that night was not lost on anyone in attendance or those that watched as it was live streamed around the world.
The pictures that people took that night and videos as well where simply awe inspiring I must say, and as you know we have done a lot of illuminations over the years.
The Canadian Flag over the waterfall was especially significant a lot of people said as it hit home what happened and why we were there on that Friday night.
We scoped out the best bridge to hang our 40 foot Canadian Flag and decided on the Plains Road bridge. Within minutes of tweeting and facebooking the bridge, people started to join us and a few hours later we had probably over 200 people join us.
Everyone got a Canadian Flag from us, and we had a lot of great conversations with Canadians and what it meant to them to be there. One of the most amazing moments is when people attending a wedding at the RBG came to pay their respects, that said a lot to their feelings of patriotic duty that evening.
I had families of the fallen messaging me throughout the day expressing sadness for our loss to our City, and when it comes from a Silver Cross Mother it carries a very heavy and meaningful statement and feeling of love and support.
I even had one mother ask me to give a hug to another mother that lost her son and was on the bridge with us, a small family indeed.
The memorial that continues to grow at the Armouries was amazing to see, the letters, flowers and thoughts from Canadians was truly beautiful to see and witness, at the darkest of times and the most incredible things can happen from our fellow man.
Today’s funeral saw a City and Country come together as one, even standing with a reporter, people came by to thank them for how they covered it and to say how proud they were.
The front line responders, that came in from all over to help out was amazing, hugs were being given out freely by all, I had a building superintendant even offered me her parking spot for CH#1, and after the funeral somebody put some flowers on the hood of CH#8.
When I left the downtown area, I even had 2 police officers salute me as I drove by, a class act all around.
As the City and Country prepares to sleep, we are getting ready to head to Quebec for the service and funeral of Warrant Vincent.
What does tomorrow hold for us as a Country you may ask?
That’s up to each and every one of us, each day we can build our Nation stronger, that’s the key, all of us can do our part, and today you did, lets keep it going.
