Veteran's Day

I know I've been around long enough to know better, but, I am still amazed by the people who don't know which war this day was set aside for. OK, the observation is on a Monday. But this is 'Armistice Day': end of WW1.

I asked some fairly intelligent people at work last week about this holiday. Most of them couldn't tell the difference between WW1 and WW2. They thought this was like V-J day - a state holiday in Rhode Island.

Of course, this was followed up by talking with a very bright high school senior who is going to Northwestern U with a fencing scholarship. She's been taking college courses for a couple of years. She couldn't find Chicago on a map of the United States (with state borders). She put it somewhere in the Dakotas. She lives 5 miles from the New Hampshire border and can't tell the difference between New Hampshire and Vermont.

Perhaps the saddest though, was, when faced with a map of Eurasia and trying to locate Moscow, she picked somewhere close to Bonn. Only 2 countries away... but how do you miss the absolute largest country on the planet?

Sigh.