I'm going to get ahead of this holiday, rather than be late, as I was on Memorial Day. This is far and away my favorite of the Summer holidays. There's not as much pomp and circumstance as I would like to see sometimes, but for some reason it's the birth of a great nation, and I suppose humility is a part of that greatness. I've been lucky to celebrate it in several cities around the country.
Once I literally sat alone New Jersey, on the bleachers of a little league baseball field with my dog, and watched a display across the river. That is an strangely moving experience.
If you're ever in Dallas, during the 4th, I highly recommend watching Kaboomtown, in Addison. They put their show on the evening of the 3rd. They start the festivities around 5 or 6PM, with the launching of nearly every WWII plane you can imagine. They have a wonderful museum there that houses these planes, and the heroes from that generation love to get out and fly them on the 3rd. Then they proceed to put on one of the top 10 fireworks displays in the country. I'm not kidding. When you think it's over, there's always just a little bit more. I've been going for nearly 20 years now, and it just gets better and better.
I did hear some disturbing news this morning, on the eve of such a great holiday. Someone is burning American flags as they hang off houses. Cheap thrills, but such a despicable, cowardly act. While burning the American flag should be a federal crime, an official flag retirement ceremony is probably one of the most emotional events someone can attend.
When my son and I were involved in Cub Scouts, we instituted a flag retirement ceremony every year at our family camp out. It was designed to follow the federal guidelines of retiring a flag, and yet simply modified to make sure everyone participated. The actual ceremony is to be simple and respectful. In the 3 years that we performed this ceremony we were honored to retire flags that we collected, because we noticed they were frayed and torn from office buildings that didn't know how to dispose of them, to flags that flew over the home of a retired Army Colonol, and the most moving, a flag that flew over one of our dad's unit in the 1st Gulf War.
Everyone at the camp out got a simple bound strip that included a red stripe, a white strip, and a star, wrapped together. Each family together walked to the campfire and carefully tossed their package into the fire. I read a speech that I had written, combining information on the history of the flag, the process of the ceremony, and a few extra words I felt important. Somehow, everyone, realized during the ceremony they were honoring the millions of Americans that have fought, died and have been wounded for this great nation.
This should be a yearly event at every school. It is void of any religious overtones, as it should be. But it does bring a new sense of meaning evertime you see the flag flying. Those cowards that are burning flags for kicks should have had to do this. They wouldn't find it so funny now. They might actually realize the harm it does not just to the family that proudly flew that flag, but to us as a nation.
Have a safe and fabulous 4th of July! I know I will.
