"THE AMERICAN FLAG"

Hi folks, this is Two Texas PawPaw. If you're old enough to remember the 70's, you may recall an incident that happened back then when a bunch of idiot Americans decided to torch the American flag and it got to be quiet the thing around the country, Women began to form clubs around these United States to try and stop this brutal act. I was employed by a General Motors dealership in Amarillo, Texas at the time and my boss's wife was President of this club in that city. She ask me to write a poem for her that could be used at the monthly meeting of this club, so I oblidged as best I could, The poem was entitled "The American Flag", and it goes like this:-----HERE LATELY IN THE NEWSPAPER AND ON THE T.V. SCREEN---I SAW SOMETHING THAT MADE ME WONDER HOW SOME PEOPLE COULD BE THAT MEAN---I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT MURDER, OR ROBBERY, OR SOME OTHER CAPITAL CRIME---I'M TALKING ABOUT SOMETHING THAT I THOUGHT I'D NEVER SEE IN MY LIFETIME---AT FIRST I THOUGHT THIS CAN'T BE REAL, IT'S GOT TO BE SOME KIND OF A GAG---BUT THEN I REALIZED, RIGHT BEFORE MY EYES, SOME FOOL STUCK A MATCH TO THE AMERICAN FLAG---WHAT PEOPLE WON'T DO NOW DAYS JUST TO INVENT A NEW STORY---SETTING FIRE TO THAT PIECE OF CLOTH WON'T GET RID OF 'OLD GLORY'---OH SHE'S FOUGHT WARS , LED PARADES, AND STOOD BY MANY A GRAVE---SHE'S BROUGHT TEARS TO THE STRONGEST MEN, AS THEY WATCHED HER COLORS WAVE---I'D CARRY HER STARS ON MY BACK, NO MATTER WHAT THE COST---I PITY THOSE PEOPLE WHO SET HER ON FIRE, AND FOR THEM I APOLOGIZE TO 'BETSY ROSS'---I GUESS THEY JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND THE MEANING OF SOMETHING SO TRUE---BECAUSE FROM 13 STARS TO 51 STARS, OLD GLORY BUILT HER RED, WHITE AND BLUE---SHE REPRESENTS AMERICA AND ALL OF HER BEAUTIFUL LAND---SHE REPRESENTS THAT PIECE OF GROUND WHERE YOU AND YOUR FAMILY STAND---SO IF YOU'RE OUT TO DESTROY HER, I SUGGEST YOU DON'T GET CAUGHT---I SUGGEST YOU PUT OUT THE FLAME AND GIVE IT ANOTHER THOUGHT---YOU SEE, SHE'S MY FLAG, AND SHE'S MY AMERICA, AND LONG MAY HER COLORS WAVE---HERE IN THE LAND OF THE EQUALLY FREE AND THE HOME OF THE TRULY BRAVE---SO LET'S CUT OUT THIS FLAG BURNING AND BE THE CITIZENS GOD WANTS US TO BE---I'M PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN, GLORY HALELUJAH, WON'T YOU JOIN ME:-----Before long the fad of burning the flag played out and American returned to it's flag waving tradition without any furthur disturbances. Not because of my poem, but because the people of Our United States decided we could not survive without 'Old Glory' waving above our heads. Giving thanks around our Nation that we had a flag in the first place. Just the word "Thanksgiving" prompts the spirit of humility --genuine gratitude to God for His mercy, His abundance, His protection, and His smile of favor. At this coming holiday of Thanksgiving, as at no other, we count our blessings. And we run out of time before we come back to the soil, the sun, and the rain, that combine their efforts to produce the miracle of life, resulting in food for our stomachs and shelter for our bodies...direct gifts from our God of Grace. One of our most treasured blessings that we should count is the previlidge of being an American citizen and having a Flag so beautiful to represent us. Psalm 66:5 (come and see the works of God, Who is awesome in His deeds):-----This is Two Texas PawPaw, signingoff, and, the good Lord willing and the creeks don't rise, I'll be back tomorrow.