For Love of Country - Military Policewoman www.silvaredigonda.ca

Bill did not seem to tire from reading the messages. I was sure that people would soon become bored. I had attended so many functions throughout the years. "It does not seem that it has been almost twenty years ago that I met you. Upon receiving your retirement message, it gave me a reminder that we are growing older and eventually we all will have to make the inevitable decisions. While I sit and ponder what I should say, I reflect back on QL3 and QL5 and think of the good laughs and times we had during those days starting out, and of the different characters and personalities of the course instructors. There are some fond memories. I will not make an attempt at describing any embarrassing anecdotes and will just say that I personally congratulate you on your retirement and wish you prosperity, health and happiness for the future. LFA AHQ Halifax. Bill paused from his reading to look at me, “Sebastian?” he queried. “I nodded as memories stirred. Twenty years. My mother smiled. CHAPTER ONE Saying Goodbye Summer 1974 – twenty years earlier My mother smiled as she sat across from me at the Diner. The Diner had existed throughout my childhood and teenage years. It wasn’t my favourite restaurant, but it had endured, while everything around it changed. The Diner had a fifties look, not because of renovations but simply due to the passage of time. The only change to the miniature juke box at each table was the cost to play it. Even the songs were the same as years ago. The Diner was small, served beer to the same customers, and never became the teenage hangout that in appearance it had promised to become.” Excerpt From: Silva Redigonda. “For love of country : military policewoman.