Lest we forget

Last year's 23 Nov 2007, five fellow paddlers met an accident and departed. It was day of shock and sadness for the dragon boating community.

As a sign of mourning and for remembrance, I created the above picture.

This year's 23 Nov 2008, I found that I have forgotten, and remembered only when I saw the obituary on the newspaper.

I am not sure how many people paddling at the River Regatta remembered them amid their own joys and disappointments over the races.

If I had remembered, I would have asked my team to observe a minute of silence even as we celebrate our own achievements. But I had forgotten.

We humans are forgetful people aren't we? But that's also a mechanism to cope with loss and pain. Perhaps that's why we need memento like these: lest we forget.