Flags

Charlie is out right now, ‘doing flags’ with the Scouts. Such amazing dedication that man has! When I think of the early hours, 2, 3, 4 o’clock in the morning for like 9 years, or something like that, the innumerable campouts with the boys. . . It’s blowing me away. He’s out there right now, out front, in the dark. . directing 3 different vehicles, and I’m not sure how many boys. His truck’s running out in the middle of the street. .  If I peak through the blinds, I can vaguely make out headlights. . Tommy walking toward the house, carrying 2 or 3 flags. . I can hear hear the action, muted though it is, from in here. Charlie gets it done. : ) He’s always been an early riser, unlike me. . Driving for Coke, prepping his 18-wheeler in the dead of winter. . down at Brick Oven in Provo, when he was a cook, food prep at 6am. . . Ever since the restaurant up in Idaho, that boy knows what it means to hop out of bed and make it happen. I guess we need to thank his Grandma Doris. He always said she was the one who taught him how to work.

Today they’re out there planting flags in all the neighbor’s yards. Many times, lying in bed, I can hear the tink, tink, tink of the rebar being pounded into the cold, hard ground. And then they’re on to the next house, and the metallic rhythm fades, becomes fainter, as they hurry off into the neighborhood. . .

On Veteran’s Day, the people here remember, when they awake and see the flags flying, billowing in their front yards, that patriotism and honor, and valor. . live on.

It’s truly awe-inspiring. . . to think about the gift that countless men, people, gave. . . so that we, in the here and now, might enjoy freedom. Freedom to live, to speak, to worship. . We are still free to think, free to hunt, free to act. . . free.

Veterans, now and in the past, have -and are- painting our future with their blood, sweat and tears, a future made brighter by their sacrifice.