On November 11 I always think of a veteran that I never met. My maternal grandfather died on this date in 1940, over 7 months before my mother was born. He died at work during his shift at the Westinghouse facility in Sharon, PA on that day long ago. The holiday at that time was known as Armistice Day to mark the end of fighting in the First World War. My grandfather was a veteran of that war. My grandmother became certain of her pregnancy while walking from the grave site the day of my grandfather’s funeral when she became unbearably nauseous. Her world had turned completely upside down. The war in Europe was raging, and soon the rest of the world would explode into the full chaos of the Second World War. On this day I always think of the trauma that my grandmother faced…and that so many others during that time would also face…life is hard…
Todd Rivetti 