There’s not much that makes me happier than seeing an American flag on the side of a barn. This one in rural southern Ohio is just outside a village I passed through in my travels recently.
Patriotism means a lot of things to different people. That’s clear as you travel through this world but I’m increasingly glad every time I see an American flag.
You never know what you might see while out and about so I keep my eyes peeled for interesting things – even when just running errands.
These patriotic murals inside the Point Pleasant, West Virginia flood wall are even more stunning in real life than pictured here.
Notice the ghostly humans here.
And the striking colors on this one!
They were completed in 2020 by someone named B. Rollins and are simply beautiful. They are right outside the American Legion and impossible to miss if you visit downtown Point Pleasant.
All of us who were living on September 11, 2001 probably remember where we were when we heard the news. It’s hard to believe that there is an entire generation of young people who don’t know a pre-9/11 world.
They also are living in a world where divisive politics define the tone of all things. They haven’t experienced a time when Americans were united under one flag without regard to politics. Remember how people came together? While first responders rushed to help, the rest of us gave blood, gathered supplies, prayed and did what we could to help in our own way.
Now it’s an official day of service. This brings me hope as our nation badly needs to embrace unity and service to others.
I’ll be spending my day volunteering in my community and I am grateful for the opportunity to do some good.
The pictures are from the memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. – hallowed ground where a plane full of strangers worked together to make the impossible decision to crash in a field rather than allow terrorists to reach their destination.
My job is not something I write about here. I assume you all know that I’m gainfully employed but you may not know that I work in marketing for a community bank. This makes me sort of a Jack (or Jill) of all trades.
My work isn’t normally relevant but I thought you would like to see what we do for Independence Day at the bank in our hometown.
It looks nice in pictures but is even more impressive in person.
Here’s a behind the scenes look from behind the flag.
We began hanging this flag for a few days around the 4th several years ago and it is one of my proudest moments every time it goes up. I hope the community enjoys it as much as I do and that it makes your heart swell with patriotic pride as well.
I have a lot on my mind today. None of it am I prepared to organize and share.
Instead, I encourage you all to be kind to one another, to set aside your differences, to embrace what is right, and to move forward as part of the solution.
Enough is enough. Our country badly needs to heal as one nation.
Words matter. So I leave you with these 31 words.
I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America
