A couple days ago somebody asked me what I thought about burning the flag; I guess a flag burning incident was in the news. I said that before I could tell them what I thought I had to tell them what the flag meant to my father. He would stop talking, in mid sentence if need be, when the National Anthem came on the TV or radio. One of the last gifts he ever gave me was his flag, he wanted to know that I got it and that it would be cared for. I once heard him tell a fellow that his brother traded his son for a flag and a name carved in granite on a wall in D.C. I said that knowing how much that piece of cloth means to some people means that I will treat it with respect in all cases. He asked me if I would stop someone from burning a flag and I said not likely. He said, "So bottom line is, you don't care." At that point I figured he was just trying to get a rise out of me so I excused myself from the conversation and got back to work.
