Freedom is not a given - it's a privilege

That first time I pulled up... I saw it.

It was flying gloriously from a proper pole right there on a post off his front porch and it wasn't even the Fourth of July! ... I didn't really think about his proclamation, I guess.

He grew up in a small military town near Death Valley in California. His father had spent his entire 35 year career working on the base as a civilian draftsman. Both of his parents were born & raised in that small town where patriotism was taught, appreciated, believed in, acted out and respected. I had held my hand on my heart alongside all those other kids going through the public school system every morning; we pledged our allegiance to it, we praised it's symbolism and we were taught to appreciate what it stood for, because that was the right thing to do. My sisters, father and I had to apply for the privilege to call it our own. We were officially granted, and it is documented that we were bestowed the right on

July Eleventh, 1979...

This honorable symbol has been shot at, burned, spit upon and stomped on... I don't understand why...? Do we not realize that our way of life is one that so many throughout the world will never experience?! Do we not know that our flag is considered a beacon to so many?! Do we not understand, recall or think about the unimaginable sacrifice that has gone into securing the freedom and independence we are now in possession of?

Freedom is actually not a given, folks.

It is EARNED - we work for it; past, present & future!

Our flag and what it stands for:

hardiness and valor,

vigilance, perseverance and justice,

purity & innocence

should never ever be taken for granted.

This symbol of our country and all that it entails deserves our pride and respect

each and every day!

Wishing Happy Day of Independence 2017 to the U.S.A.!

Let's celebrate with parades, BBQs, fireworks and great appreciation!

And... we can talk about the clowns next time...

Comments

Starting Out - The Adventures of Marvin and Mavis Magpie - Chapter 2

They had just spent their first real night in the new place, the one they had built together. It was a great starter nest! They had worked side by side to find the perfect twigs and tufts of winter grass to stitch it all together just right. There were no adornments, just a nice roof over their heads, and it would most definitely survive the typical spring and summer time weather a neighborhood at 7200 feet could expect! As the sun began to rise behind the gloomy clouds and morning showers, the slight breeze swayed their high rise just a bit and Marvin whispered, "Nothing to be alarmed about, Mavis, trees of this size will shimmy and shake, especially this far up from the ground!" "Mamma always told me there was no time for worry" Mavis replied, "besides, it's time to get up and get going with our day!" "Yes! Indeed it is my fine lady" Marvin smiled and with that headed toward the door to go fi...

Mem'ries

They really are like the beautiful song Barbra Streisand made famous. Oh, Oh, mem'ries.... (insert music note emoticons here). They may be beautiful and yet. Misty, water colored mem'ries. You know the words... I was given this unique piece of artwork a couple of years ago. I had recently started dating her son and we had personally met, though she lived over a thousand miles away. She mailed it to him to give to me. Maybe I had impressed her as the type of someone who might like a piece of her personally hand made artwork? A work of art that she had personally made. The first home my ex and I had purchased was a 700sf war box in West Seattle. Back in those days we didn't take photos of ourselves and our surroundings every step we took. Taking pictures happened when we remembered to bring the camera. Carrying around your Nikon like a purse wasn't the norm. It was a cute little house that sat perched up off the str...

In Loving Memory...

I have an "inspiration" binder that I keep on a shelf in my office at home where I’ve collected pictures of things I've found in magazines. There's a few priceless treasures of artwork that my kids made me tucked in there too. I only add super special stuff - things that I know I'll love for the long term. Anyway, we were talking about a project at the house when I suddenly thought of a photo I wanted to share with Russ and brought the binder out. As I was flipping through these pages of images that I'd saved over a good decade of time, I found this little quote Mom had sent to me. I don't know when she sent it, but I had liked it so much. There it was, this two sentence quote that SHE must have cut out of a magazine. The words were highlighted in what was now a faded yellow marker and she’d written four little words above it on a hot pink sticky note in her beautiful cursive writing. A note just for me. Reminding me to believ...

Welcome!

Search This Blog