Happy Veteran’s/Armistice Day. It’s not just a federal holiday. Ask a veteran near you, or in your own family, what Veteran’s/Armistice Day means to them.

My great-uncle fought in WWI. One of our family stories concerns the day he left home for basic training. My grandfather was the youngest in his family, but the only other boy; they had lost their father not long before. When Role left, he told my grandfather, “Here’s how the car starts – you crank it up, hop inside, and steer. Here’s the brakes. Make sure you take Mother and Sissy to church every Sunday. See you soon.” I think my grandfather was 10 or 11 at the time. I think my mother still has the letters he wrote to his soon-to-be wife. There are black stripes through some of them, and big red “Censored” stamps on every page. I’m still not sure where he was during the war, but my mum might know.

Later on I wound up marrying into a military family. Evil Dad’s father, two of his uncles (the ones who were old enough to serve at the time) and grandfathers all belonged to various branches of the service. One of his grandfathers was MIA/presumed dead when a reconnaissance flight over Germany went wrong. WWII has become an (understandable) obsession with Evil Dad, who has never seen a documentary about the Army Air Corp that he could resist. One of Evil Dad’s uncles was a paratrooper; who enjoyed his job so much that he was, um, strongly encouraged to retire after 30 years. My own father would have been old enough to serve in Vietnam, save for his prolapsed mitral valve that made him a 4F.

I have decidedly mixed feeling about Veteran’s Day. We celebrate and honor both the men and women who lost their lives during “The War to End All Wars”, and those who lost their lives in the dozens of wars that happened in the 90 years afterward. There must be a better way to resolve conflicts after all this time than sending out two leaders’ proxies (which is, after all, what soldiers are) to kill each other as quickly and efficiently as they possibly can. I don’t know what that would be, but people in a greater position of authority than lil’ old me don’t seem to even be asking the question.

But anyway…I wanted to leave you with a link to one of the best WWI stories you’ll ever hear. It’s The Western Front by Patrick Samphire. It’s an amazing story, told in a series of letters home from a young officer to his wife. The descriptions of how he goes from a by-the-book idealist to a cynic are terrific, but the best part is how it ends. Just go listen – you won’t be disappointed. WARNING: Like every other story on Pseudopod, it’s for mature listeners only. Save this one for after the little ones are in bed.

A deep, heartfelt thank you to the men and women who have served our country from us here at Chez Evil.

One of the horror podcasts I listen to, Psuedopod (and the only one that isn’t “old-time radio” stuff), has an amazing story this week. Normally, the stories are exciting and macabre, but not all that scary to me. There have been a couple of exceptions to that, including one that I had to shut off and remove from the Teeny Silver Device. This week’s story is in honor of Veteran’s Day on Sunday. It is absolutely amazing.

The story, The Western Front, is set in WWI. The narrator is somewhere in France, and mostly takes place in the trenches. It’s told in the form of his letters home to his wife and his diary entries. The Western Front manages to go from banality to real horror to…well, I won’t spoil it for you – except to say that you really should hang in there until the very end. You won’t be disappointed.

Oh, and the warning about the unsuitability of these stories for children? Take it seriously.