One of the symbols of late fall for me has always been the sight of plastic poppies on lapels. Living outside Canada I don't see them anymore, but I always make a point of going to Canada's UN Mission to pick one up and slide some money into the donation slot box for the Canadian legion. Inevitably I'm the only one wearing one except (incongruously) the security guards in the lobby of the Mission building. I kind of want someone to ask me about it but no one ever does. I want to explain the significance it has to Canadian and British veterans and that my Dad was a soldier but it's a story I only ever tell in my head. Back home the poppies are everywhere on the lapels of overcoats and ski jackets and windbreakers - a kind of badge of honour and respect that paradoxically pays homage to what young soldiers once did and what we hope they never have to do again