Flying the flag

Did you store away all your patriotic paraphernalia in mid-July?

I did, after several "flag holidays" in the summer, on which we Americans are encouraged to fly our flags high and remember our freedoms and those who made them possible. I am a true flag waver; I love to fly our flag high every day, and I love to put out the red, white and blue buntings and other lawn ornaments to remind myself and others that it is time to FLY THE FLAG.

Well, some of those flag observing days are coming up again. I think I recall where we put those decorations. Recently one of the little hooks, attaching our flag to its rope, broke. So while I waited for Husband to purchase a replacement hook, our flagpole looked empty while it waited. After a few days, the new little hook arrived in our home and I could hardly wait to get after the task of rehanging the flag. I wished I had gotten the new hook so that young grandson Andrew could have helped me hang it, but it didn't happen. Still, it gave this grandma, a former school teacher, an opportunity for a flag etiquette lesson to be imparted. I included the meaning of half-staff and full-staff, and where those instructions come from for our use in flying the flag. Andrew actually suggested an idea for flying our flag, when he understood that it was not flying just then. He spied the wooden pole I have on the side of the house near the garage door where I would fly one of our seasonal flags if I could locate them in the storage box I neatly put them in back when those trendy flags were in vogue. But now, our American flag flies again and I can hope that the breezes will pick up soon and it will fly proudly. I know we probably should take down our flag every evening but the flag etiquette books and pamphlets tell me that I can fly the flag at night if it is illuminated. And the street light at the end of our cul-de-sac illuminates our flag so I leave it flying.

All of this flag flying reminded me of the time when our grandson Smythe who, you might recall, lived in Siloam until he was about 3 years old and spent some time with us. I tried to teach him to salute the flag, so here is this little boy, standing on our driveway, and I showed him how to hold his right hand over his heart while he stood a bit. I said "Salute," so he could make the connection in his mind with a flag salute and the motion which corresponded. Now that I have remembered this "drill," I plan to teach our little granddaughter, Ashlin, the same thing. She is now a 1-year-old and, as this prints, might be able to soon stand alone to do the salute on our driveway and begin to learn the "drill."

Today, Sept. 2, is labeled "fly the flag today" on my little pocket calendar. It is V-J Day, remembering Victory in Japan, 1945, so this would be the 70th anniversary of that eventful day. Of course, many of our readers will remember that day, after the long battles in the Pacific and in Japan. I was only five years old so I do not recall the celebrations, but I can still celebrate and recall the sacrifices made those long years ago. And those born after that date can do the same. Sometimes, in history classes, we say, what does that mean to me when learning those long-ago dates. But, of course, they mean a LOT to us when we stop to think. Had the right side not prevailed in some of the great battles, a different world would be available to us.

Then, next Monday, Sept. 7, will be Labor Day, the last of the great summer holidays -- for boating, picnicking, hiking, games, etc. But it is also a "fly the flag today" chance to remember our freedoms to work. It is a true and real freedom. I go to work in my home office whenever it suits me as long as I email this weekly column in timely to the Herald-Leader, but my husband goes to work each morning for Cobb-Vantress, stopping by the Post Office to gather the mail for the employees there and distributes the pieces of mail to the employees at their corporate offices. We are both grateful for these jobs at this time in our lives and both look forward to doing them. I hope you feel the same way about your job and can celebrate Labor Day with your own schedule and with the flying of the flag.

Lastly, for September, Patriot Day will be observed on the 11th, recalling the day the Twin Towers went down in New York City and nearly 3,000 of our citizens perished. We should fly our flags on that day, although it is not a federal holiday.

I Pledge Allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

And I would add, Amen.

-- Jan Mullikin is a Siloam Springs resident and former employee of the Herald-Leader. She can be reached at [email protected]. The opinions expressed are those of the author.