A nice gesture, litterally.

Here in Canada we do it a bit differently, using the " thumbs up " gesture, made famous by Hockey Night in Canada's " commentator, Don Cherry . That signal goes back to WW2 military use, to indicate that " every thing is OK ".

We also have had a series of events here, where Canadian National Hockey League teams have encouraged their season ticket holders to "give up your seat for a soldier " , so that CF members who are about to go to Afghanistan were given free tickets to attend the games. The Toronto Maple Leafs fans gave up over 7,000 sats in a 19,000 seat arena for the soldiers.

Via rail ( our national passenger rail service), is offering FREE travel for all CF members , AND their families, this summer. It is very common for CF members to have their meals bought for them, in cafes and resturants, by citizens. At Tim Horton's a national chain of coffee and donut shops, CF members in uniform are : " first in line " for take out service, and many TH managers will say "your money is no good here today " or someone else in line will buy for them.

When we do loose a man/woman in the Sandbox, it is front page news all across Canada, and the media covers it live when the casket arrives back at CFB Trenton. The 401 highway, from Trenton to Toronto, all 110 kilometres of it, is lined with Canadians, paying their respects. There are 50 overpasses along the funeral route, and ALL of them are lined with people , standing silently, as the procession passes by with it's 6 Ontario Provincial Police escort cars. The OPP also closes each on ramp on the 401, as the funeral procession comes along, so there are no cars near the funeral group .

When the funeral gets to Toronto, to go to the Coroner's building, where an official autopsy will be conducted, the Toronto Police service closes all the intersections along the city route, with a officer standing at attention in the intersection , as the procession pases thru . The public stop and stand at attention, sllently.

That is how we "say thank you" to our dead.

Jim Bunting. Toronto.