Matters of life and death

My child, Today one of my true friends phoned to tell me that her father had died. Death is part of all our lives and inescapable, but I wanted to tell you something about this good man. He was a member of the French Resistance in the second world war. He escaped France early during the war but returned after training in Britain to fight Nazism. You cannot underestimate the risk that he put himself under - if he had been caught he would have been shot as a spy. He helped defeat one of the great evils of the 20th Century. I tell you this because he would seem like an ordinary man if you met him. He did not talk of his war years, or of the terrible things he had seen. It seems to me that he did his duty to help his fellow man. Whatever you may think of war and fighting, there are people out there who fight to protect your freedoms and mine. They should demand your respect and thanks, but most of them (and I know a lot of military men and women) don't ask for it. Remember when you see these people that they are prepared to lay their lives on the line for you, and perhaps a smile or a wave of recognition is due. One of the things that I intend with this diary is to pass on my thoughts, ideals and knowledge to you. I cannot make you live by my morals or judgements, and in fact I want you to find your own way. I am very conventional in someways, and completely unconventional in others. But I really hope that you have the wisdom to respect those who are prepared to sacrifice themselves so that you don't have to. I am off to see my friend now, to support her as best I can - in the end all we all have is our family, friends and loved ones. Thinking of you. I love you.