Happy Fourth of July

If things went as planned
I would be posting from
my mother's house

If things went as planned
I would be watching
a great fireworks display
in a small town park
where the beautiful sky
is lit up
by a thousand tiny lights
of red, green, blue and gold
and saying
OOOOOOOOO
Ahhhhhhhhhh
ewwwwwwww
(the good one, not the bad one)
while sitting in comfy lawn chairs
with my mom
my son
and my friends
tonight

but obviously,
you know
things don't usually go as planned
and I am not there

my son didn't ask off of work
and I won't leave him here alone
for over a week
so
we didn't go

of course, yesterday
he found out that he doesn't have to work
until Saturday
and we could have gone
yes I know,
every year but that was 2 days too late to leave
so here we are
The muse and I contemplated
a local baseball game and good music
but due to the ever changing weather
(read as instant downpours with no predictability)
we decided we didn't want to be rained out
after buying the pricey tickets

so at the moment there are no big plans
I 'magine I will mosey over the the park
by RJ's house if it isn't raining
he tells me they should be
as good as the ones I love and miss
back home
so I should at least see if there is anything to that

The Beach? you ask

for several years
I have gone to the beach
in fact
the muse and I went last year
and we talked about it
but we haven't gone yet
and I am not going today
it is a long drive
when coming home late in the dark
and really
that thought was always with the idea
that someday a man who loved me
would travel there with me
so.... no.... not this year

the dates are plentiful
the depth is not...
but I am having fun
most of the time.

but I digress

We are celebrating our Independence
I am a very patriotic person
It is important to me
to stand at attention
when the Star Spangled Banner
is played, and that men remove their caps
and I don't mean just stand up
I mean stand straight and tall and proud
I sing it also when we all know I can't sing
and when the Pledge of Allegiance is said
I think everyone should have their hand
on their heart and looking at the flag
with respect and honor

There was a time when the boys were in boyscouts
and they went around before holidays such as this
and put out flags in the yards of every one in town
(when we lived in a small town)
and I have always had a US and Texas flag in my classroom
(you would be surprised at how before 9/11 classrooms often didn't have flags)

and then there was 9/11
and it was a horrible tragedy
I am not talking about that today

I am talking about being patriotic
so after 9/11
people had flags out all the time
(which if they are flying after dark
are suppose to be lit)
they had them on their cars,
in their offices
they had paper ones taped to their windows
bumperstickers

all of the sudden there was a shortage of flags
for the flag making companies
because we must now flaunt
our patriotism

I was outraged
these were what I know as
fair weather fans
only it wasn't due to fair weather
it was due to an attack on our nation

and I have noticed
slowly but surely
the flags all started
to fade away
just as a bad memory does

My 18 year olds birthday
is June 14,
which is flag day
and the story I have told before
is that he always asked
why the flags were out that day
(in a small town, you notice when
every yard has a flag flying)
and I told him, for a long time,
it was because it was his birthday
and the whole country was celebrating


I didn't notice many flags flying on that day
this year
and it will be interesting to see
how many are out when I go out today

and I am hopeful
that all those who had been
so outwardly patriotic
were now understanding
that even though it is great
to be proud and raise your flag
on every day
or special days
it is better to be inwardly patriotic
and teach your children to be
proud of the country they live in
and understand all the freedoms we have
that so many others do not
and with freedom comes responsibility
to make good decisions

and then to realize
that even if you teach them
they will be the ones deciding
how they will honor themselves
and their country by the decisions they make

I read somewhere in the last few days
how much "less" patriotic we are
than we were right after 9/11
I hope that we are not less patriotic
but there are just fewer flags flying

that didn't exactly sound right
I hope the flags that are out today
and on other days
represent those who are truly
deep down patriotic
and not just a knee jerk reaction
in anger
for a tragedy
like a bulldog
protecting his yard
after a bully sneaked in and stole his bone

I also hope
for a quiet day
for all our troops
and no one's life
is lost on this day
of independence.

Happy 4th of July
for my American Friends
and as for you Walker
maybe someday you can
come watch the fireworks
in TEXAS
cuz you know
everything is bigger and better
in Texas