Last year I pulled up a wonderful article about Flag Day but I pulled it up on the actual Flag Day.  I put the article in a folder to write about it this year.  Amazingly I remembered!

Flay Day is celebrated on June 14^th.  I have known that but did not realize the history around the day.  The day commemorates the adoption of our United States Flag.  This happened on June 14^th, 1777 by resolution of the Second Continental Congress.

In 1916 President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation that officially established June 14^th as Flag Day.  It was not until August 1949 that National Flag Day was established by an Act of Congress.  Flag Day is not an official federal holiday but it is a special day to celebrate our United States Flag.

We live in an area where many of us prominently display our flags on a daily basis.  When you do this one of the things we need to be careful of is the condition of our flag.  I was driving in to our subdivision a few years ago and I kept noticing that our subdivision flag was looking very tattered.  I finally asked someone on the board about it.  It was not the fact that they couldn't afford a new flag it was just that no one had noticed or if they did they had not said anything.  I have to admit our personal flag just had to be replaced.  It had become tattered and I didn't notice even though I was walking by it every day.  I guess when we get use to something we just don't notice when it is in need of repair.  I replaced our flag and this time I spent some money on a high quality flag.  The flag I bought is from the oldest manufacturer of flags in the United States.   Personally I wanted to buy a flag that was made in the USA. 

I found a great USA Flag website which gives all kinds of information about the flag.  According to them there is a proper way to dispose of a worn flag.   When a flag is so worn it is no longer fit to serve as a symbol of our country, it should be destroyed by burning in a dignified manner.

Today the flag consists of thirteen horizontal stripes, seven red alternating with 6 white. The stripes represent the original 13 colonies, the stars represent the 50 states of the Union. The colors of the flag are symbolic as well: Red symbolizes Hardiness and Valor, White symbolizes Purity and Innocence and Blue represents Vigilance, Perseverance and Justice.

I think it is especially important to fly a flag when we are at a time of war.  I know that this has become an unpopular war but nevertheless it is still a time of war.  We started flying a flag during the first Gulf War and have pretty much flown a flag since then.  As I said we live in a very patriotic area.  There are a number of us who have had or presently do have children that are serving in our military.  Our son is an Intelligence Analyst with the Army and is currently deployed on his second tour of Iraq. 

I'm really not sure exactly what our son does as an Intelligence Analyst but what I do know is that he is chasing bad guys with a computer and a mouse.  I also know that they have been catching LOTS of bad guys.  What is amazing to me though (well maybe not totally amazing as the media doesn't report good news) is the fact that the media has been very quiet reporting on the Iraq War recently.  I guess good news is not as exciting to report but we are catching lots of bad guys. 

We are so fortunate to live in a country where we have freedom of speech, religion, freedom to choose where we live, freedom to choose what we do etc. etc.   One of those freedoms is being able to prominently fly our flag every day of the year if we so desire.  Flag Day may be June 14^th but in my books it is every day.  Our ancestors came over to the United States a long time ago but I am so glad they got on that big boat.  I'm proud to have a long history of relatives who have served to defend our country; including my husband's Grandpa in World War I, my Dad in World War II and our son presently in Iraq.

We have a flag that has 48 stars on it. It was given to a great grandpa that was in the civil war, (he lied about his age.) We had it up in our attic but when hurricane Rita happened I fretted about that flag being up there. Since that time I brought it down and it now resides in my cedar chest. It is something that I want to be able to pass on to my children (well I guess they can fight over who gets it).

Here is a link to a beautiful photographic tribute to our 50 States.  As I was watching it "Freedom is not Free" kept going through my mind.  When you watch clear through to the end you will see that it was also going through the producers head also. 

For all your real estate needs, contact me today!
Marchel Peterson
Results Realty
Cell: 832-721-8332