Today is the official day of mourning in the Netherlands, as the remains of the victims of flight 17 are brought home. Short down by a missile over the Ukraine last week, passengers aboard this flight were on their way to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Many were going for vacation, others to an AIDS conference, and yet others were going home to Malaysia or travelling further to distant destinations. No doubt, each of these passengers boarded in anticipation of the future...a stark reminder how precious our lives are!
While the country mourns and trains stop for one minute during the day, clocks toll their bells, and the general business of the day is interrupted into silence so as to respect all those whose lives were cut short, one unique element to this day of mourning is the position of all of the 1200 remaining Dutch windmills in mourning mode.
Disclaimer: These are photos are not mine but borrowed from the internet to illustrate the mourning position of the sails of the Dutch windmill. Note that the bottom sail is positioned slightly to the right so as to signify what has gone and past on.
The normal resting position of a windmill's sails is straight down. As this straight-on photo shows, this windmill is in mourning position because the bottom sail is slightly to the right.
May all those souls rest in peace.
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