Street roots
Nov. 21, 2014
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By Dennis
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For one spoke! One heart!
Never Bring together the notion
For one word torn apart at the seems!
I’m missing You.
One spoke the word at the message
I’m leaving You
So give your heart a break let
Your Heart break
Open Your eyes and relate on a
moment in time
like a Diamond will shine
a pearl will shine like
an emerald deep within the sea.
For the suns rays are immediately
For what keeps on growing!
For the lion is tame and noble
For the king of the jungle!
Bill
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COURTESY OF UGC FOX DISTRIBUTION
Viewing marks Christmas Truce centenary
Veterans fo r Peace to host show ing o f “Joyeux N oel” w ith a renewed call fo r peace
BY E M ILY GREEN
STAFF WRITER
hia holiday season marks the 100-
yeàr anniversary of one of the most
remarkable moments in history:
The 1914 Christmas Truce - when World
War I soldiers battling on the Western
Front laid down arms during the days
leading up to Christmas. Gifts and
cigarettes were exchanged across enemy
lines, friendly soccer matches were played,
and th e dead who lay in the battlefield -
irretrievable during Combat - were laid to
re s t It was an event championed by
soldiers arid opposed by generals that has
since served as a symbol of how it’s
possible, even during the most hostile of
conflicts, for humanity to trump war.
To commemorate thè famous
Christmas Truce on its centennial, the
Portland chapter of Veterans for Peace
(VFP), a national organization of veterans-
tumed-peace activists, will host three
showings of a 2005 French film about the
truce, “Joyeux Noel," at Cinema 21 the
first weekend in December.
Directed by Christian Carion, whose
films include “The Girl from Paris” (2001)
and “Farewell" (2009), “Joyeux Noel”
chronicles the experiences of French,
British and Scottish soldiers fighting along
a small stretch of trench on the Western
F ront From their life prior to enlistment
S
Showtimes for “Joyeux Noel”
Cinema 21
616 NW 21st Ave.
Thursday, Dec. 4
7 p.m. ($9.50 Adults/$8.50,
Students/$7.00 Seniors & Children)
Saturday & Sunday, Dec. 6 ,7
4 p.m. ($7.50 Adults/$6.50 Seniors &
Children)
to the horrors of trench warfare, Clarion
follows them into the war, through the
famous ceasefire and beyond, when many
truce participants faced harsh
consequences for fraternizing with the
enemy.
According to late film critic Roger
Ebert, who gave the film three out of four
stars, “[“Joyeux Noel’s”] seritimentality is
muted by the thought that this moment of
peace actually did take place, among men
who were punished for it, and who mostly
died soon enough afterward. But on one
Christmas, they were able to express what
has been called, perhaps too optimistically,
the brotherhood of man.”
VFP member Dan Shea says, “This is
an extraordinary movie. Bright with
colors, even in the dire of winter, there
are many nuances that left me craving for
more information.”
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It is estimated that about 100,000
troops participated in the unofficial truce,
which broke out spontaneously in many
different areas of the front that stretched
across France and into Germany. During a
war that claimed the lives of 37 million
soldiers and civilians, the truce bears the
message, says VFP organizer Becky
Luening, that “laying down arms and
recognizing common humanity is
possible.” She says, “It’s a choice we have
every moment of every day - it’s powerful
when soldiers make that choice during
war.”
Veterans for Peace chapters worldwide
plan to commemorate the historic truce in
a variety of ways: The British chapter
plans to stage a soccer match with
German veterans, and the Veterans Peace
Council of Metro New York is sponsoring
a folk concert
The commemoration of the truce has
been the focus of a year-long campaign by
VFP to call for an international New Year’s
ceasefire and peace to end all wars.
Leading up to the anniversary of the
truth, organizers have held events
centered on spreading awareness of Agent
Orange’s lasting effects and most recently, '
Armistice Day, which celebrates the
signing of the armistice to end World War
I on Nov. 11,1918.
Observations
by Kenneth Nickell
Blue and white haze carries across
the morning sky,
As night gives way to light..
Evergreen strong and reaching,
Breezy sway, softly preaching.
Everything’s alright