Ragged Old Flag

......a poem by Johnny Cash (and me).

I walked through a county courthouse square.
On a park bench, an old man was sittin’ there.
I said, “Your old court house is kinda run down”.
He said, “Naw, it’ll do for our little town”.

I said, “Your old flag pole is leaned a little bit,
And that’s a ragged old flag you got hangin’ on it”.
He said, “Have a seat”, and I sat down;
“Is this the first time you’ve been to our little town?”
I said, “I think it is”.

He said, “I don’t like to brag,
but we’re kinda proud
Of that Ragged Old Flag”.

“You see, we got a little hole in that flag there,
When Washington took it across the Delaware.
“And it got power burned the night Francis Scott Key
Sat watching it, writing, ‘Say Can You See’.

It got a bad rip in New Orleans,
With Packingham and Jackson tugging at its seams.
And it almost fell at the Alamo beside the Texas flag,
But she waved on, though.

“She got cut with a sword at Chancellorsville
And she got cut again at Shiloh Hill.
There was Robert E. Lee and Beauregard and Bragg,
And the south wind blew hard on that Ragged Old Flag.

“On Flanders Field in WW I
She got a big hole from a Bertha Gun.
She turned blood red in WW II.
She hung limp, and low, a time or two.
She was in Korea and Vietnam;
She went where she was sent
By her Uncle Sam.

(Added by me:
“She flew high across Desert Storm.
When 9-11 hit, she carried a new form.
Across Afghanistan, in a whirlwind of fire
She waved on for freedom
As we held her up higher.

“Now it’s Iraq that’s taking its toll
With the terrorists’ struggle,
But she calls, ‘Let’s roll’.)

“She waved from our ships upon the briny foam
And now they’ve about quit wavin’ her back here at home.
In her own good land here she’s been abused,
She’s been burned, dishonored, denied and refused,
And the government, for which she stands,
is scandalized across the land.

“And she’s getting thread bare, and she’s wearin’ thin
But she’s in good shape, for the shape she’s in.
‘Cause she’s been through the fire before
And I believe she can take a whole lot more.

So we raise her up every morning
And we take her down every night.
We don’t let her touch the ground
And we fold her up right.

“On second thought, I do like to brag;
‘Cause I’m mighty proud of that
Ragged Old Flag."
***************
As we approach Veteran's Day 2006, I feel a sense of patriotism swelling up inside of me. I wanted to repost this poem because I take pride in our American Flag and our Country. I know we have many problems; many people are dissatisfied with the way things are, yet, at the same time, many of us adapt and make the best of things.

It pains my heart to hear the roar of change. Thousands of new people come into our Country every year. It seems like many of them want to change our land into their "old country" ways. The winds of change appear to be driving dark clouds in our direction.

Where is the pride in protecting "our ways", that were established by our forefathers?

SASSAFRAS TEA

As a kid growing up on a 360 acre farm about 25 miles from nowhere, there wasn’t a lot of things we could do to get into much trouble. Naturally we had the usual brother-bickering back and forth but brothers do that, you know. Three of us grew up together, stair-stepped 2 years apart, so we had plenty of opportunity to scuffle with each other. But other than that, we stayed pretty mellow; not having much free time to get into mischief; unless, of course, you consider that my older brother by 6 years found ways to make it hard on the rest of us. For instance, him and his hoodlum buddies bringing in cigarettes and teaching me how to smoke ‘em. I definitely got into trouble with Mom on that one! I don’t know if she ever told Dad or not, but I do remember pleading with her not to tell him! I promised I would never do it again……..and I didn’t until I turned 19.

I do remember a lot of things about the hot summer days; the way we used to play in the grown-up thickets and pastures. I recall the times we would take a roll of Binder Twine and use it to make a fort in the Sassafras thickets. Now, Binder Twine was a fuzzy cord of sisal rope material that was used in the process of baling hay. Later, Baling Wire was more common due to its increased strength over the twine. Apparently, we had a few rolls of the twine left over from Grandpa’s hay baling days, or perhaps it just found its way home from someone else’s farm. At any rate, we found a use for it.

Sassafras was a plant/bush/tree depending upon when you saw it. It could grow as high as 70 or 80 feet. The trees would send out root runners along the ground and occasionally send a small shoot upward to form a new tree. These plants grew wild and thrived in the Arkansas climate. We would find 4 or 5 growing in an area and that’s what we used for the 4 corner posts of our Fort. As we encircled the posts several times, similar to building a fence, we created a support for our “poles”. We would cut small bushes and limbs and weave them vertically in the twine fence and thus, give us an enclosure that kept us “safe” and free from being seen by the “enemy”. Ironically, our nearest neighbor was over a mile away. Their son, Paul, was my age. He wasn’t really the kind of kid who would hike over a mile to “spy” on me in the hot Arkansas sunshine.

We didn’t know much about Sassafras, except that the older folks made Tea from its root bark after a drying process. Sassafras Tea was popular, although I can’t recall Mom making it. She was always making Lipton tea. It sure tasted good in those days. It wasn’t the tea bags like we have today. It came in a box with the Lipton label; inside were sealed dried tea leaves, chopped and crumpled, waiting on a boiling tea pot of hot water to bring out the smell and flavor we remember.

But little did we know about Sassafras. Who would have thought that all that time we played amongst the bushes of death? The FDA banned Sassafras oil because it was a high cause of cancer in certain tests they performed.

In the 16th Century, Tobacco and sassafras (two cancer causing death plants) were the most important early medicinal plants in America. The plant takes a while to fruit, but when it does dark blue, pea-size berries rest atop a bright red peduncle. From the profile, the fruit and peduncle looks like a small ice cream cone.
Sassafras is aromatic, giving off a fragrance somewhere between that of oranges and vanilla. The fragrance comes from safrole. Safrole is highly concentrated in the roots. The Cherokee Indians used it to cure anything from VD to being overweight. In 1963 it was determined that it caused cancer in rats. They claimed that just a few drops of the Safrole oil could kill a child. I guess we shouldn’t have been sniffing and chewing on the dried roots!
I find it ironic that living on a remote chunk of land in Arkansas, assuming that we were out of harms way, except for an occasional deadly snake encounter, that what we thought to be harmless, was just as deadly, yet provided hours of peaceful entertainment for 3 boys with imagination.

Funny

thing

about LAUGHING…….

You can’t help yourself!
It’s impossible to hold back!
It stretches your face!
Your eyes squint half closed!
You make this weird cackling sound!
Sometimes your eyes water so much you start to cry!
You jiggle like jelly!
Often makes you bend over!
Sometimes you do the knee-slapper thing!
Sometimes you lay down and roll over like Rover, holding your belly like your insides are coming out while your roar with joy.

Laughing is supposed to be good for the soul. It’s like a healing balm to the inner most parts of your body. Some say that those who laugh often are physically healthier. There are those serious faces out there who seldom laugh at anything. If they do, it’s usually something they say themselves!

People who laugh are more fun to be around. Who wants to sit there and visit with “sour grapes”? People are drawn to the crowd over in the corner who laughs out loud. They want to see what’s going on and to be a part of the joy!

I always enjoy a good laugh. I’m not what you would call a “belly-laugher” so much. I do enjoy funny jokes and stories, as well as the next guy. Sometimes my humor is dry and you have to be listening closely to “get it”. I think I got that from my Mom’s side. My Uncle Dean was always funny! His son, Mike, inherited his Dad’s wit and humor. I suppose that’s my source, but I’m not sure. It’s certainly not from my Mom or Dad or Grandma or Grandpa on Dad’s side.

I was trying to download a Permit Form from the City of Longview, Washington the other day and ran across some funny reasons to tax people! It has always been intriguing to see inventive ways that Cities and Counties across the country have made laws that affect our lives in a funny, but costly, way. This is dry type humor that makes me smile.

Did you know that in the City of Longview, to have a school auction you have to get a License ($30) and the teacher who is the Auctioneer must pay $25?

If you want live music at your Cabaret, you must pay $10?

Dance Permits are required within the City Limits, including Teenage Dances. $10 per dance.

You must have a Circus License if you want to have a Circus……I wonder if this applies to the City Government….?

You have a Jukebox? The Jukebox Tax is $30.

Your political sign in your yard will cost you $50, but you get it back when you remove the sign!

How about a Sound Truck License for $5? I wonder if that applies to Rap Music from the kid in the car next to yours.

Want to have a Tupperware Party in Longview? Get a Special Sales License!

Want to be a Taxi Driver in Longview? It will cost you $3 per year!

I think Longview should vote on a Bureaucrat Tax and gig ‘em for $10 for each event, each hand wave, and each time their lips move!

That’s the way I see it……..

I love to hike...

I wish I had discovered the joys of hiking and backpacking years ago! I remember hiking around the Mt Hood area and Lost Lake years ago. Somehow I failed to be impressed with how much fun it was!

I am not a "loner" hiker. Where's the fun in hiking by yourself? Things discovered need to be shared with others. I enjoy the backpacking adventures with my friends, no doubt about that! But I really enjoy hiking with my woman. She's beginning to work towards more hiking adventures. Although we need to keep them short and fun, (there are no "potties" in the woods), she manages to impress me with her strength.

We conquered Lost Lake Butte this summer. I admired her for doing that one! I also think she was proud of herself for not giving up when she thought about it! I was!

Last week for my birthday, she booked us a 3rd floor suite at Bonneville Hot Springs Resort. Our balcony had a Hot Tub on the deck that looked out towards a secluded wooded view of the Fall colored hills. The Hot Tub was filled with hot springs water that felt wonderful. I spent a lot of time soaking in that swirling 104 degree bath of mineral water.

We came in on Friday. She had booked me a 50 minute Swedish massage in the resort spa at 4:00. I emerged from that onslaught, I could barely walk! My body was like Jello! From there it was into the Hot Tub a while. I was so relaxed a bomb could have gone off in the courtyard and I would have barely noticed!

From there, I began to open the 60 gifts she bought for me! Yes....60!

Dinner was great, then back to the suite for more Hot Tubbing. I slept like a baby. Breakfast came after two more Hot Tub soakings. They had the BEST Bacon......

We checked out at noon and drove West on Highway 14. We stopped at Beacon Rock where we decided to hike to the top! Yes, my woman and I hiked to the top of Beacon Rock! Fun times!

We returned home to find a surprise birthday party awaiting for me! All my "daughters" were there to surprise me with very nice cards, hugs and food!

That evening we went to a leadership dinner where I received more "pats on the back" and great food!

It was a fine weekend......a fine day!

Oh, and yes, I turned 60.

....The best-laid plans of Mice and Men....

Have you ever had your eyes set towards a goal, only to find “roadblocks” in your way? I think back upon my life and envisioning what I wanted to be when I “grew up”. Naturally, as a kid, I wanted to be the “Fireman” or “Forest Ranger”, and even “The Lone Ranger” because that was “flashy” and seemed exciting to me. As I grew and gained much wisdom, it changed to “Mechanical Engineer”. At the time, I had no earthly idea what ME was, or why I wanted to be one. But it seemed to be the thing during those high school years. Unfortunately, I did not prepare for becoming one; yet choosing instead to bask in the warmth of the “idea”. Thus, my mental competency was a roadblock.

College didn’t work for me. I couldn’t sit still long enough to learn and I was wasting my $90 per semester tuition (big money back in those days…..or so I thought). So I decided to enter the Military and joined the Air Force. Naturally, they tried to brainwash us into thinking the USAF would make a great career. That didn’t work out too well, either! My energy was spent and I couldn’t wait to get out. I put up my own roadblock with that one! So I was honorably discharged and rejoined the civilian life. I soon found myself back in college where I quickly found that my “brain” was my roadblock. That didn’t work out, either, so I took a detour.

The single life wasn’t for me so I tossed up another roadblock, took my detour and fell in love, got married, had kids, and now I’m old. WOW! That sure went FAST!

Trying to find a career became a challenge. I worked part time in a grocery store during my high school and early college days. After the Air Force, I went back to the grocery business but found a roadblock of boredom facing me. I decided upon a Trade School to learn the building trades and enter the same skill that my father-in-law was doing. I soon found the “bridge was down” and I liked it.

People say that a person changes jobs about 7 times during his life, spanning, I think, 3 careers. I’m not sure about those numbers but it’s something like that. I’ve had 3 careers. Actually, I’m on my third one now and at my age, looks like I’ll stick it out to the end. I have worked for more employers than 7, but that’s okay.

Have you thought about your life? At what point are you in this process? Have you found roadblocks that made you turn and send you down another path? Some of us tend to bog down and try to “wait” it out. When the bridge is “up”, it’s okay enough to just sit there in our job and collect our paycheck, waiting for the bridge to come down. Sometimes it comes down; sometimes it doesn’t. How do you like your career? Would a roadblock or “bridge up” disappoint you? During my military days, I was told to “bloom where you’re planted”. I look back over my last 40 years and can confidently say that “I have”. I bloomed in all 3 of my careers. But that’s another story….

Baptized in Goat Lake

This past Saturday was a remarkable day! Austin is a senior in high school. I have been praying for him as his “Prayer Warrior” for 4 years. Two weeks ago we talked about baptism and what it means. Austin wanted me to take him into the Cascade Mountains to be baptized in a cold, snow melt fed lake called Goat Lake.

Goat Lake is located in the heart of the Goat Rocks Wilderness at almost 6,000 feet elevation. The lake appears to have been naturally created from a volcano that blew out one side and died. It is entirely filled with fresh snow every winter. Every year, from 1994 until 2002, I had never seen this lake thaw. My annual August trek to Goat Lake was usually the same sight; a thin crescent line of blue water showing along the southern edge of the lake; the remainder was snow.

The morning began at 5:00 am with a 3.5 hour drive to the trailhead near Chambers Lake in Washington. Trail 95 to Goat Lake went across Goat Ridge, through forests and hills, covered, today, with heavy fog that kept everything dripping wet. The temperature was hovering around 40 degrees and the sun peeked in and out through the dense fog to feel warm upon our faces. The higher we climbed the more sun we felt. The 12 mile round trip venture was amazingly beautiful.

Once we crossed Goat Ridge to come down the east side towards the lake, the fog disappeared for the rest of the day and we enjoyed warm, sunny weather. The October sky was clear, the air was fresh; patches of snow dotted the mountains and the Fall colors of vegetation were brilliant hues of reds, yellows, green and orange. It was beautiful!

The water was about 38 degrees! Snowmelt continued to flow into the lake creating a waterfall at the outlet that dropped several hundred feet to the valley floor below. It is always a beautiful view to see majestic Mt Adams shining in the sun.

Austin was baptized by his father; a beautiful sight. He will never forget this experience! The water was very cold, but the warmth of the Lord brought joy to both dad and son.

We began our return trip along Trail 96 for about 6.5 miles, through amazing colors on the carpeted hillside. The 3 ½ hour trip home gave us time to think about today’s event and to drift back into time, viewing events in our own lives.

I began to think about my own baptism. I was baptized in a baptistery in a little church in Kansas. I dressed in a gown, walked up the steps, down the steps, dunked in the warm water, then back up the steps and out to dry off. The end result was the same as Austin’s but his was so much more exciting!

Do you remember your baptism??

TODAY, DO ONE BRAVE THING….
THEN RUN LIKE HECK…..

I don’t consider myself a brave man. Even spending a year in Vietnam failed to do it. I was there for a reason, somewhat like I’m here for a reason. It was a job, a duty, a place to be for a period of time in my life.

Taking on certain tasks in life don’t make me feel brave either. Sometimes, following some daring feat, I look back and would, perhaps, consider it as being “stupid”, but never brave.

I believe that the brave were ordinary people, placed in a position of responsibility that, under extreme circumstances, caused them to rise to the top instead of cutting and running. In certain situations, where bravery is required we could find ourselves doing things that, even we don’t understand. Sometimes the mind becomes cloudy and the adrenal gland kicks in causing a reaction that amazes the best of us! Next thing we know, someone is patting us on the back and saying what a brave thing you did!

Looking back on my life, I can’t actually think of one brave thing I did. In Vietnam, I was awarded 4 Air Medals and the Distinguished Flying Cross. I found out that the DFC is the 8th medal from the top in the rank of importance. But what I did to receive that was ordinary work that I did everyday. It wasn’t like saving a child from the mouth of a Lion or the claws of a Bear. I never jumped into the semi-frozen river to rescue a drowning victim. I never foiled a kidnapping attempt or tackled a shooter bent on killing innocent people. I never rescued anyone from the path of an oncoming car or truck. I never saved any comrades under enemy fire or rescued a distressed child in a burning building.

I believe that most of us are in the category of doing non-brave things; going about our lives, being ordinary, sometimes being stupid, yet remaining outside the spotlight, doing our thing that we call “normal”. I do love to hear about brave things that people do. Like the lady in the news around here a few weeks ago…..

A woman, a nurse, returning home from work, at night, walked into her house and was confronted by a man with a hammer, bent on using it on her head, I suppose. Apparently, the woman’s husband had hired this man to kill his wife. However, she desperately fought back and ended up strangling the man.

It’s interesting how adrenaline can kick in so powerfully that it enables us to become stronger, braver and better than a normal person. The killer became the killed in this case. It seems like a brave thing to me, but on the other hand, she was fighting for her life; thrust into a position of doing something beyond the ordinary.

Perhaps YOU have been thrust into the “bravery spotlight” in your life. I, for one, enjoy hearing about those things. I also believe you deserve a medal.

Vehicle purchase update…..

The “politics” of car buying became frustrating to the point that I gave up on salesmen. I tried working with “internet sales” and they weren’t much better. I’m not too keen on smoke and mirrors business anyway. It becomes so confusing and makes a sensible purchase become “suspect”. I didn’t know if I was getting a good deal or not.

I finally figured out the best way to purchase a vehicle. It was very simple. The answer is to not use a car salesman to make your purchase! I decided to investigate the market and spent a few weeks looking through “cars for sale” flyers and newspaper ads. First of all I decided on the kind of vehicle I wanted; make, model and year, as well as price range. Then I went on the internet and did a search of the vehicle I wanted. I poured over several ads, looking at the options for the price and came up with an appropriate price range for the vehicle I wanted. From there I began searching for the same thing closer to my home so I wouldn’t have additional shipping or driving expenses to get it home.

My favorite place to go back to, over and over, until the one I wanted appeared, was “Craig’s List”. I discovered that http://www.portland.craigslist.org/ was the best place to look. I found the very truck I wanted at a price of $4,000 less than I had thought I would pay because the owner was anxious to sell and the truck had higher miles than usual, but fine for me and my occasional use. It was a 2004 Dodge 1500 4x4 Quad Cab, black, loaded for $14k.

I also discovered that Craig’s List is nationwide and appears in most major cities. It might even be in yours! Check it out! There’s much, much more than autos at this site. A friend of mine got a big, above-ground, rectangle, 4 feet deep swimming pool, complete with a Redwood Deck around 2/3rds of it……FOR FREE!! It was only 2 or 3 years old and in perfect condition! If you are looking for something specific, it’s a great place to start.

So now, I’m a truck owner, driving a big truck that friends say, “Boy! That’s a big truck!”

Well, I guess it is.

It’s OCTOBER

I have not posted anything for a while for a number of excuses. One day runs into the next so fast that a long time passes in a short amount of time.

I do want to give an update on Aaron. He is in good spirits for going through such difficult times. The chemo therapy treatments have been extremely hard on this little guy, but he’s been a Trooper! Through the nausea, the shaking, the dizziness, the pain and all of the other physical abnormalities that come with having your body injected with gallons with Leukemia killing chemicals, his spirit of joy still comes through and shines brightly.

This particular day, a Clown came through the Ward and stopped in to visit with Aaron. He showed him a new card trick and gave him some gifts. The clown hat covered his bald head and the “red nose” gave him an air of distinction associated with the trade. As he put them on and began to “clown around” I snapped his picture and made it “wall paper” on my Cell Phone.

The Clown gave him a long Peacock feather and showed him how to balance it on the end of his finger, which Aaron took delight in showing us.

He was quick to show everyone his new card trick as they came into his room. Even though his eye lids remained half open, he managed to work up a few smiles and amuse those of us who needed to be amusing HIM.

He enjoys kidding around with his nurses. While I sat watching, a nurse came in and started giving him pain killing injections into his “port tube” and something to take away his nausea. Aaron asked to listen into the Stethoscope she wore around her neck. He put it on and she showed him his heartbeat…..he wanted to listen to hers. She showed him his bowels working, the growling noises of the gastric intestinal noises, and he wanted to listen to hers. She let him. He told her that she might be “busy” in a couple of hours and chuckled about it.

He is in his third month of 36 months of chemo. May God give him strength to continue….

Grandpa