Veterans
Affairs Canada info Student
presentation
Terry Kelly BA, C.M. |
On
November 11, 1999 Terry Kelly was in a Shoppers Drug Mart store in
Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. At 10:55 AM an announcement came over the
store’s PA asking customers who would still be on the premises at
11:00 AM to give two minutes of silence in respect to the veterans
who have sacrificed so much for us. Terry was impressed with the store’s leadership role in adopting the Legion’s “two minutes of silence” initiative. He felt that the store’s contribution of educating the public to the importance of remembering was commendable. When eleven o’clock arrived on that day, an announcement was again made asking for the “two minutes of silence” to commence. All customers, with the exception of a man who was accompanied by his young child, showed their respect.
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Terry’s anger towards the father for trying to engage the
store’s clerk in conversation and for setting a bad example for his
child was channeled into a beautiful piece of work called, “A
Pittance of Time”. Terry later recorded “A
Pittance of Time” and included it on his full-length music CD, “The
Power of the Dream”.
“Two Minutes of Silence - A Pittance of Time” combines music and theatre in an emotional production that looks at the folly of war. The inspirational songs and dramatic monologues evoke memories both tinged with sadness and joy that ultimately underscore the need for hope and faith in the goodness of humankind.
A relationship - set in World War One – unfolds as a young Canadian soldier fighting in the trenches attempts to bring some sanity to his horrific situation by corresponding with his new bride back home.