Did you remember Flag Day?

Happy Flag Day everyone! Um, you DID know that it was Flag Day, right?

I don’t mean to sound overly patriotic or to take any specific political stand. It’s just that, had I not heard it mentioned on the morning news, I would not have known that today is Flag Day either. After all, it’s not a holiday that involves a day off of work, nor is it really a holiday that inspires fond memories of Flag Days past. Do you remember what you were doing on Flag Day ten years ago? Five Years ago? Last year?

Actually, I do have one memory of a Flag Day spent in Baltimore on a business trip back in the late 1980’s. As I searched for a place to eat along the Inner Harbor, I noticed all the restaurants were jammed packed. When I asked a local what was going on, he said, "why, it’s Flag Day of course." It turns out that Baltimore has a big celebration every year with bands, parties and fireworks since this is the site where the Star Spangled Banner was written (Fort McHenry and all that).

Anyhow, my point is that Flag Day seems to be a largely ignored holiday. Thanks to the reminder on television, I hoisted my flag this morning as I headed off to work this morning. However, I didn’t notice one other flag during my 17-mile commute. This is in sharp contract to the days and weeks following 9/11. I remember counting well over 50 flags during my morning commute. It was a tough time for us all and I think many of us found solace in the newfound patriotism and proudly flew the flag. And although you’ll see quite a few flying on July 4, it’s a shame that we can’t remember to fly the flag on other days, such as Memorial Day, Veteran’s Day, Armed Forces Day, and of course, Flag Day. And again, I’m as guilty as anyone else. But I am proud to say I do own a flag, and I hope most folks out there own one as well...whether it be a small mail-box sized flag or a larger one to hang off a pole. I think it’s important to have one in every household.

So in celebration of this day, I thought I’d post few flag and Flag Day facts you might find interesting. There’s plenty of websites out there with additional information, just google it and you’ll find it.

• Despite an official resolution regarding the flag being issued in 1777, it wasn’t until 1912 that the order of the stars and proportions of the flag were officially prescribed by executive order.
• There has never been specific meaning assigned to the colors of the flag itself. However, the official Seal of the United States contains the same colors and are designated as such: "White signifies purity and innocence. Red signifies hardiness and valor. Blue signifies vigilance, perseverance and justice"
• A flag is flown upside down to serve as a distress signal.
• When flying a flag at half-mast, it should be raised to its peak, and then lowered to the halfway point. When taken down, it should again be raised to its summit before lowering.
• The flag should be flown at half-mast on Memorial Day from sunrise until noon. At noon, the flag should be raised and flown at full-mast until sundown.
• A flag historian is called a vexillologist
• The blue field with the stars is called the "union."
• Until 1818, an additional stripe as well as a star was added to the flag for each new state. After 1818, the flag has returned to and remained at 13 stripes.
• A five-pointed star was rarely used in any symbolism prior to its use in the American Flag. Most stars had previously been presented with six points.
• The are 19 different holidays that are designated as days in which the flag should be flown. I won’t list them all here, but the list includes Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Happy Flag Day!

Gosh darn, son-of-a-gun…this friggin’ crap has me all screwed up to heck

My son’s daycare teacher reported that she overheard the boy using the F-word in the playground the other day. Needless to say, I decided to have a little talk with him later that evening.

"Did you say a bad word in school today?"

"Maybe."

"Well, the teacher told me you did. She told me you said a word that begins with F."

He looked confused. "No, I used another word. I told a friend that he was an idiot, and you said that ‘idiot’ is not a nice word." Technically, the boy was correct. We’ve tried to teach our kids not to call others by bad names, even if the word isn’t technically bad.

I smiled as I watched his disappointment in saying the word "idiot." "Well then, make sure you try not to call anyone an idiot again."

"Okay, I promise not to call anyone a fucking idiot again."

Okay, so this is where I needed to be sent to the emergency room for biting my tongue so hard, stifling the laughter. As it seems, my son never knew that the F-word is bad because he merely had overheard someone else say it. Sure, he could have heard is from me, but later discussion revealed it was another classmate. To my son, the F-word simply was not bad because he didn’t know it to be bad. "Idiot," however was a bad word.

This got me to thinking about bad words in general. The fact that someone is called an idiot is not perceived as a taboo statement in society today. However, add a supposed obscene adjective, and the statement is offensive. Why is the adjective offensive versus the derogatory noun? And what about an adjective that means the exact same thing. Let’s say "freaking" instead of "fucking." Is calling someone a "freaking idiot" any less offensive than being called a "fucking idiot?" Apparently so, because you hear the word "freaking" all the time on television. (Or "friggin’," "fricking," "flipping," or some other derivative).

Why is it that any kid can talk about poop or feeling like crap, but is considered a delinquent if that kid mentions the word "shit?" Is "shit" so much different than "crap?" It means the same thing…so why is one acceptable over another?

I’m not proposing a change to our language, nor am I supportive of my kids, or any others, speaking with a foul mouth. I just think it’s funny that it’s not the meaning of such words that are offensive, but just the words themselves. Wouldn’t you think the intent of such words, no matter the level of obscenity, would be the true measure of offensiveness?

Thinking about it just makes me laugh my ass off. Oops, I can’t say "ass", can I? However I can write the acronym of LMAO. Oh heck, now I’m really friggin’ confused.

Pop and Circle Dance

Last night, I attended one of the first milestones in my childrens’ educational career: The Daycare Graduation Ceremony. It can be called nothing else but cute as 24 little kids marched in a single row dressed in their caps and gowns to the sound of Pomp and Circumstance (or as my kids say, Pop and Circle Dance). They sang a rendition of Zip-a-Dee-Do-Dah ("Pre-K was fun, lot’s of learning and play…Zip-a-Dee-Do-Dah, Zip-a-Dee-Ay"), followed by "I’m a Shining Star" to the tune of "Itsy Bittsy Spider." Again, cute…or perhaps even adorable.

I stood with my video camera in a row of similarly donned parents that resembled coverage at any Presidential Press Conference. Cameras clicking and video whirling as the kids all sat down in a row while the director addressed the crowd and praised the children. When the diplomas were to be handed out, each child was told to come up one at a time, take the diploma, hug their teachers, and go back to their seat. The first three children complied as instructed. The fourth child (ironically, the director’s child) ran up before his name was called. That set a precedent as all kids started to head towards the podium. They still stayed in line, but not in the same order. Watching the teachers and director quickly sort through all the diplomas and hand them out was probably only a hint of the day to day challenges they faced in their class. I had to admire their patience and decorum in controlling the potential chaos. In no time, all the kids were seated again with diplomas in hand, most of them flicking at the tassels that hung from their mortarboards. Finally, the children were asked to stand up one more time, turn to the parents and cited a quick poem to thank the parents and state that the daycare will live in their heart forever. Cute.

The ceremony was followed by a slide show in the air-conditioned classroom (thank goodness). Although the show lasted about ten minutes too long, it was fun to hear the kids call out the names of their friends whenever said friend’s face appeared on the screen. As with all of the evening, it was more fun to watch the kids than the presentations or speakers involved. After all, it was the kids’ moment.

Before the cake was served (which brought the largest cheer from the kids), the teacher’s shared philosophical statements shared by the kids over the past year. I’d like to share those of my kids with you now:

• Rather than say "It’s better to be late than never," my daughter stated, "It’s better to be late than early." Unfortunately, she lives that philosophy to the letter (as does her mother) every day. My son’s take was, "It’s better to be late than at nine o’clock." My son, the cryptic philosopher.
  
• We’ve heard that "too much of a good thing can be bad." My son stated that "too much of a good thing can be playing with toys." I guess you can never have too many toys, or time to play with them, as is evident by out over-flowing playroom, which used to be a dining room. My daughter went the most logical route with, "too much of a good thing can be the most."
  
• Especially when being around kids, one has to be reminded that "patience is a virtue." My daughter has decided that "patience is a wait." Somehow, that makes sense. The boy stated, "patience is nice." Of course, it would be nice if either child practiced patience.
  
• Finally, so close to Father’s Day, we’ve all heard the phrase, "Father Knows Best." My children had a different view of father…being me. My daughter was kind enough to announce that "father knows how to do a head stand." This is true, although doing so usually has my kids tackling me right away. And my son summed me up by saying, ‘father knows tricks." I’ll hold back comment on that.
  
• One more statement I’d like to share from an undisclosed classmate shows the logic of children at this age. "Why can’t the Spanish teacher learn English?"

Drunk Driving Kills

George Alwyin Smith was driving westbound on Insterstate 40 to work Monday morning as he has for many years prior. He was a 55 year old father and people say he was a model citizen and neighbor. Michael Caldera De Latorre was driving the other way along Interstate 40. He veered across the median and hit George's week-old Kia. George died.

The police report that Michael smelled of alcohol. Turns out that Michael is also an illegal immigrant. He was driving a stolen vehicle from Charlotte so he must have left the Queeen city a few hours prior. He was probably drinking heavily before getting into his car. Hell, he might have been drinking while he was driving.

An entire debate can be born from the fact that De Latorre was an illegal immigrant with a driver's license. And I'll be glad to participate in such a discussion. But the fact is that he was drunk, no matter the status. And he was driving.

In about 10 years, I'll be 55. My kids will be around 15 and anxious to learn to drive, thinking I'm an uncool parent, and starting to experience so many cool things in life. I want to see that. I hope to hell that another Michael De Latorre isn't on the road as I drive to work.

Next time you're thinking about driving after having a drink, think of the other Georges on the road and don't be a Michael.