Dead Men Tell tales...

 

I have spent much time avoiding the sun, head down over the laptop searching for dead men.  There are plenty around, in fact they are all over the place, we never appear to run out of them.  I am reminded of one wit who, in a creepy tone  reminded his listeners that the dead outnumber the living, what is worse it that their numbers are growing all the time.   When you consider that in the twentieth century, which seems so long ago now, it was customary to identify and bury the war dead we forget that for centuries before this often a less organised system operated.  The winning side may have dug one grave and marked this for their men while being less caring for the opposition.  Each culture followed their own ideas.  Only the other day I read of a grave in Poland of dead Russian solders killed in action and buried reasonably well in the circumstances but with little marking it appears.  In hot countries it was the thing to strip bodies and reuse material and later gather the bones together, many just left them for the dogs of course.

Sometimes I wonder if we treat the war dead in those large cemeteries better than we do the men who survived?  After the war men were sent home with a few pounds as a 'gratuity' and thanks for coming and left to their own devices, today there is some help at 'debriefing' but I winder if it is enough and do men take it?  I doubt our government cares, caring costs too much!

Tomorrow I will leave aside the dead and work on something a bit more cheery.

The end of the Hot Spots in sight.  Up north rain has teemed down and I have enjoyed sending pics such as this to my friends.  Well they were friends before I sent the pics.  Today clouds hung about for a while and normal temps appear.  I might be able to go out properly now!   This is a shame as I was enjoying watching the half naked women  young children playing in the sun, they were so happy running around the park.  

The heat changes the way we look at life.  Our outlook is affected by the climate and geography in which we grow.  Peoples living high up in mountain regions do appear to have a tough outlook on life, Australians in the 'Bush' also develop this and like to show a droll humour to go with it, something lacking maybe in those in the mountains?  What does that make city dwellers raised in comfort and ease?  Those raised in a land where it rains, clouds go gray easily, and cold winds find openings you never knew about have their own individual outlook on life...