Karen’s Place

Hi Everyone!  Just a quick post to direct you toward my Guestbook page.  On my old blog over on MSN spaces, there was a guestbook where people could use HTML.  Wordpress doesn’t allow for HTML in their comments, so I added the Guestbook.  Should you want to leave any embeded pics or notes you can feel free to do it here.  Just click the ‘post’ button and you can get started.  There are only two required fields: your name and where you’re from.  The rest is optional.

Have a good one!

I posted the below on my MySpace today.  I think it bares repeating:

Today I watched as one of my closest friends buried her third sibling in 5 years. Including her father who died first, she has now lost over half her family. This sister was one year younger than me. All three siblings had the same hereditary lung disease and at any time the remaining four could be diagnosed, how scary.

We only have one life to live. I know that sounds trite, and talk about a cliche’ but it’s true. We need to live life to the fullest. If we’re lucky enough to live to a ripe old age, do we want to look back and think ‘man I didn’t nap enough’ or ‘dang, i sure wish i’d spent more time watching television.’ I know I don’t. I want to create memories that can never be forgotten. I think I have a pretty good start, thanks in good part to my friends. My first trip to Las Vegas, seeing the Grand Canyon (everyone needs to see the Grand Canyon once), riding quads through Valley of Fire State Park at high speed, swimming with dolphins and resurrecting my friendship with Kim and all the bells and whistles that have come along with it, Yea, that’s a pretty good start.

My list may be very different if I were to of had children, but that just wasn’t in the cards this go around. Maybe in the next life.

****Warning this is gonna be a long one folks, I’m rambling today! ****

As I sit here on what is supposed to be the last weekend of summer, I’ve been thinking back on the past 8 months.  You know, even though the year has been somewhat tumultuous in ways, all in all I really think it has been one of the best years (thus far) I’ve had in a very long time.

As everyone is aware of by now, the personal changes I decided to make in my life made all the difference I do think.  It’s funny I was talking to a friend of mine who lives in North Carolina.  My friend is Irish, born and raised.  He was telling me when he was young his Mom used to tell him this story and he never knew what it meant until he was an adult.  I knew as soon as he was finished I would never remember it, but I sure wish I had.  I know it involved two cats and one that chased his tail all the time.  Anyway, the moral of the story was that you will never find happiness as long as you are chasing.  However, once you stop and start leading your life for you, happiness will find you.  I found it ironic he chose that story to tell me, because that’s just what I did.  I stopped everything I was doing.  I stopped working so hard at trying to control every aspect of my life and decided to just do what I wanted.  As it turns out I’m a much happier person and in turn so are those around me.  He said he began doing that a couple of years ago himself and found the same results.

So this year, I’ve been lucky enough to take my trip out East, I toured the USS Theodore Roosevelt where I was able to see my first boyfriend and good friend the Navy Chief and catch up with my old friends in North Carolina.  I’ve reconnected with my friend Kim.  I had a great albeit much too short romance with my army man, and I’ve been spending some great quality time with my oldest friend Tricia.  All this isn’t anything nobody doesn’t already know, so I’m not really sure why I’m repeating it for like the 100th time.  Probably because I’m exhausted and not really thinking straight… ha!

About six weeks ago my friend Laura and I went to a club that has live music almost every night.  We were not familiar with the band playing, but were pleasantly surprised.  After the second break or so, the guitarist, Shawn came over to our table and started chatting us up.  He was an extremely nice guy.  I’m sure at this point if I were to rave about his talent you would just assume I was being bias, but I’m not.  This guy can play like you wouldn’t believe!  Truly it blew me away.  So he talked to us on that break, and then came back during each subsequent break.  Each time he talked more and more about this other band he was in; a country band.  It was pretty clear he liked the country band much more than the one he was playing with this night.  So we all visited a while after the show was over with promises to ‘friend’ each other on myspace (you know that’s what you do now days - friend each other on myspace! ha ha). 

So a couple weeks later, I saw on his myspace that his country band (I wrote briefly about this band in a previous post) was playing on a night I could go and got my girls together and we drove out to see them.  I tell you what, he wasn’t kidding when he said that group was much different.  These guys had so much energy, got the crowd going and wow could they play!!  You can tell the guys are good friends in real life as well.  In fact Shawn and the lead singer, Chan are best friends.  I think that makes all the difference in the music.  I was called out as soon as we walked in the place and on the first break Shawn brought the guys over to meet my friends and me.  They sat and visited with us on many of the breaks and we were able to learn quite a bit about them.  Oddly, Chan was stationed at the same army post as my army man and was aquatinted with him…small small world.  So, we’ve been able to see them a couple of more times since then, the last time being Saturday night.  They had a great gig Saturday night.  Kansas City has a new entertainment district in our downtown area, called the Power and Light District.  Their gig was at one of the clubs down there called PBR Big Sky Bar.  Usually we get there when they are a good hour or so into their show, but this time we wanted to get there from the beginning.  We didn’t quite make that goal, but we were close.  None of us had been down to the P & L District before and might I say, we absolutely LOVED it!!!!!  Oh my gosh!!!  It was awesome!!!  It’s about time Kansas City did something as kick ass as this!!  We can’t wait until we can go down there again and just go from place to place.  It reminded me a lot of Vegas, it had that feeling where you were outside, but you didn’t feel like you were outside.  If you’ve been there, you know what I mean.  We were a little concerned about parking, we all heard horror stories about parking.  Then we saw the magic sign:  “VALET PARKING” *ding ding ding ding* worry over!  sweet!  Of course it cost, but with three of us splitting it, the cost was next to nothing.  Honestly, they could have really ripped us off with the cost of valet parking, but really $6 not bad at all.  I hope they don’t raise it after everyone gets used to using it.

We pay (again this was even less expensive than I’ve paid in the burbs to get into a club), get our hand stamped and head into the bar.  The guys are already playing.  We lead singer spots me right away and says ‘ahhh the posse’s here!!!’  Now is it a good thing or a bad thing to be recognized that quickly?  I’m not sure?  ha! naw it’s a good thing, he’s a sweetie.  The first thing we noticed about this joint was there were absolutely NO tables, or seats of any kind anywhere near the stage.  What the heck?  The second thing we noticed was the mechanical bull in the middle of the room.  Okay, that’s pretty cool I’m not sure if I’d seen one of those in person before.  The guys play wireless which allows them a lot more freedom than a lot of other bands.  Here’s a good example, when the third set started everyone wondered where Shawn was, Chan and Danny (the drummer) were there, but Shawn was nowhere to be found.  Then all of a sudden we could hear him.  This is where he was:

How fun! 

One thing my friends and I noticed about the people in this bar is that they seemed to be younger than us.  At first we thought we were going to be quite a bit out of place.  This didn’t seem to bother them.  They were a lot of fun to dance with.  In fact, one guy (who I should probably call a kid, but my ego won’t allow me to) came up with his friend and danced with my friend Kim and me. 

***oh at this point I should probably point out that I was barefoot.  To me shoes are only worn to get me in the door.  They come off probably 10 minutes after I get there.  Everyone tells me I’m going to get glass in my foot, or something more horrible.  I know, I know but I hate shoes - it’s a risk I take.

Okay, so this guy is dancing with me and he leans in and says “I promise I don’t want anything from you, I just want to tell you that you are SO pretty!  Then he points, from your feet to your face, you are SO pretty!”  Whoa!  I just said thank you!  Now what the heck is wrong with men of my generation being able to be open and honest like that?  Okay, maybe men of my generation don’t think I’m SO pretty.  ha ha.

We also stepped outside for some air where the three of us were immediately hit on by two college boys from Warrensburg.  Now that was fun.  One was sober, clearly thank goodness the DD, the other drunk off his butt!  He was hilarious!  His sober friend was so embarrassed of him, but the three of us just found it funny because at some point in our lives we’ve all been either that sober one, or that drunken one.  The drunken one offered to have us come back to their place the next day for some ’shrooms’.  We had to explain later to my friend Tricia these were psychedelic mushrooms, not the stuffed kind.  As soon as the invitation left drunk guys mouth, sober guy was all “NOOOOO!!!!, dude noooo!!!!”  It’s a good thing we’re cool people.  It’s a good thing Kim is a cool person - Her brother is a cop.  ha!

So the night ended and after standing for over five hours; since there were no tables or seats we were so thankful for the valet parking.

Final thoughts - yeah as if I haven’t had enough already?  As always, thanks Tricia and Kim for being posse!  Laura we missed you while you were out on sick leave.

Everyone if you’re anywhere near Kansas City, or Centralia, MO check this band out - they are Hazzard County

I’m a tad bit addicted to the Summer Olympics.  When I was younger it was always the Winter Olympics, but now it’s Summer all the way.  Last night as I was up waiting and waiting and waiting for them to get back to men’s swimming (HELLO! Michael Phelps??!!) I saw the below story.  The video isn’t the best quality, but it CRACKED me up!  It’s worth the watch.

I remember some time ago, maybe a year or so I complained on my blog about how much I spent filling my gas tank. I think back then I spent $36 to fill my little Ford Focus. Tonight I spent $47 to filling up my tank. Yes that’s right $47!!! When is this going to stop? Yeah, that was a rhetorical question. I almost got a knot in my stomach while paying for it. Unbelievable! Have I heard anything about the price of oil in the election campaigns? Nope. Nothing. Zilch. I have been getting a little better gas mileage lately though; I’ve been trying that trick I read about in one of those chain emails. It said not to hold the gas nozzle all the way down while pumping the gas, I can’t remember the physics involved in the reasoning but it actually seems to be working. I’ve been getting about 20 miles more per tank. It’s not much, but it’s something…

Speaking of saving gas. When I took this new job at work, one of the perks was the ability to work from home one day a week. I knew it would be a while before I’d be able to do that, but I’m working on a project now and I’m pretty settled in so, starting tomorrow I’ll be working every Thursday from home. It will be SO nice. It will not only save me gas, but already in the new job I get to wear casual clothes every Friday, but now with not being in the office on Thursdays I only have to come up with work clothes three days a week. That will be really nice! Oh yeah, and the extra hour of sleep will be great too. I worked from home for a while several years ago and it was so nice! Get up, make my coffee and wonder into the office for the day. Maybe get dressed, maybe not until lunch. I am looking forward to this. The others in my department don’t come in on their work at home days for anything. They even call in for meetings. I’m really looking forward to this. Oh, yeah and of course I’ll be much more productive.

Let’s see what else is going on…Oh, so Saturday I’ve been invited to a divorce party. Really? A divorce party? I suppose if this guy were that terrible of a person the gal would be pretty happy to be rid of him, but celebrating the end of something you thought would last forever? I really don’t get that. However, my friend has asked me as a favor to come out because this young lady doesn’t have that many friends. So I will. I hope it doesn’t turn in to a night of man bashing. As disappointed as I’ve been in men in the past and even recently, you can’t blame an entire gender for the acts of a few (or maybe even many).

Ahh yes, and then there’s my brother…He ended a conversation on the phone with me yesterday stating “so there’s something for your blog!” So here it is:

We were at dinner Saturday and they got his order wrong (my brother and sister are extremely picky eaters and special order everything). He told the waiter and returned his plate to the kitchen. A few minutes later the manager came over, apologized for the mistake and comped his meal. What the heck? I never get anything comped EVER! He always gets stuff for free, or he wins stuff. Whatever! So yesterday he calls me and asks me if I had been to Jose Peppers earlier. Nope, I came home right after work and vegged. He seemed skeptical and asked again. I assured him I’d been nowhere near Jose Peppers. He said he and his family had just had dinner there and when they asked for the bill the waiter said it had already been taken care of. What?? Already taken care of? He said yes, when they walked in a lady had noticed them and told the staff she wanted to take care of their bill. Holy Cow! This would be why my brother was so sure I’d been there. Are you kidding me? I have better things to do than stake out Jose Peppers and secretly pay my brothers $200 food bill! Still, it was an awesome thing for this person to do and a really great opportunity for my brother and family to pay it forward.

I watched a movie this afternoon called Madea’s Family Reunion. I expected a normal comedy, similar to Eddie Murphy’s comedies where he plays multiple characters, instead though it was Tyler Perry. What I got was a really great movie, with some pretty deep issues. One quote in particular spoke to me. I was lucky enough find it on line. It goes like this:

“We had a love so strong, that it just seemed like we were one. I mean, I would get ready to tell him something and he would open his mouth and say the very thing that I was fixin’ to tell him. Do you know how frustratin’ that was sometimes? Oh, Lord I couldn’t stand it! And then…there were those moments when I would just lay my head on his chest just to listen to his heartbeat; and then one night, I realized his heartbeat matched mine. Lord have mercy…The rhythm is off now, he’s gone. Don’t fret for me; I have had opportunity that few people ever get on this earth. God has blessed me to share time and space with the man that He designed Himself, just for me. I’ve not only been blessed, I have been divinely favored.”

Here are my thoughts-

A week ago I was able to spend some wonderful quiet time with my army man here at my house. It was very very late one night (or very very early in the morning) and we were sitting on my porch swing on my deck. It was so beautiful out it was almost storybook (as it has seemed to be each time we’ve been together). The breeze was blowing, the stars were out, and the bugs weren’t even biting. He was so tired he was almost slap happy, so at this point not really responsible for what he was saying. He says to me ‘you are so sweet, so smart, such a deep thinker –like me, but above everything you have been such a wonderful friend to me these past few months and I consider it truly a blessing to of met you.’ Needless to say I was blown away by those words. No one in my entire life had ever said such things to me. I knew he meant them.

I chose this time to tell him that I’d given it a lot of thought and even though we hadn’t known each other very long, I didn’t think I wanted to see other people while he was in Afghanistan. Well, that woke him up! That was totally the wrong thing to say! He hit the ceiling! He told me under no circumstances was I to wait for him. If I had the opportunity to date someone while he was gone, I was to absolutely date someone else. He was not to hold me back. What if the person I turned down was ‘the one’? I couldn’t believe what he was saying to me. I was heartbroken and although I was able to move this conversation to the back of my mind to somewhat enjoy the rest of my weekend, I remained heartbroken for the remainder of the following week.

This past Friday my army man finally received his transfer orders…

He’s on a much smaller post here than in North Carolina. He would be leaving in eight business days. Yes that’s correct eight business days. I haven’t double checked with him since, but by my calculations that makes it Wednesday the 25^th. Talk about adding to my heartache! He had business out of town this weekend so we couldn’t see each other, and with as fast as he has to move and the distance we live from one another, I’m not all that sure we’ll see one another before he moves (although he insists we will).

Needless to say, Friday I was a complete wreck. I called a good friend of mine who dropped everything to emotionally take care of me…I’ll admit it, she took care of me through liquid libations. Sometimes ya gotta do what ya gotta do…Anyway, we also did a lot of talking. I reminded myself of one crucial thing: I knew going into this it was just going to be for a few months, nothing more! It seems, ever since Friday when I reminded myself of this, I’ve been at peace with it. Of course I will miss him. I will miss him like crazy!

Then I saw this movie today and heard the quote:

“We had a love so strong, that it just seemed like we were one. I mean, I would get ready to tell him something and he would open his mouth and say the very thing that I was fixin’ to tell him. Do you know how frustratin’ that was sometimes? Oh, Lord I couldn’t stand it! And then…there were those moments when I would just lay my head on his chest just to listen to his heartbeat; and then one night, I realized his heartbeat matched mine. Lord have mercy…The rhythm is off now, he’s gone. Don’t fret for me; I have had opportunity that few people ever get on this earth. God has blessed me to share time and space with the man that He designed Himself, just for me. I’ve not only been blessed, I have been divinely favored.”

These are some strong words.  This is what I’m looking for in my life.  I know myself, I will settle for nothing less.  My army guy is right.  I like him so much, but I don’t love him (and I told him that), and he doesn’t love me.  Neither of us can expect me to wait over a year for him.  If an opportunity comes up while he’s gone, who’s to say it won’t be the one designed just for me?  If an opportunity comes up for him while he’s gone, how can I stop him from finding the one designed for him?  That would be terribly selfish of me, right?  If we are meant for each other, and I hope we are, it will happen for us in 18 mos.  I feel confident about that. Until then, we will remain friends. Good friends. If invited, of course I will visit him in North Carolina and I will write and send care packages to him in Afghanistan as originally planned.

Wow, how grown up of me, huh? Yeah, let’s see if I still feel that way on the 25^th!

You’ll have to forgive me; I’ve had a really bad couple of days. I’ll be using this forum to vent a little. After all, this is my blog and my prerogative.

Why is it that people have no problem using you as a sounding board-over and over and over again, but the first opportunity you need for a shoulder and all of a sudden they are unavailable? Is this selfishness? Is it uncomforableness? Is it merely not realizing a shoulder is needed? I don’t know…

I’ve been told multiple times how good of a listener I am. Okay, I am. I admit it. I’m interested in what people have to say. However, there are times when I really need to talk, or vent or have a problem and I need to talk to someone. I’ve found it increasingly difficult to find someone to open up to. Someone who returns the amount of interest I show in them. Someone who allows me to talk for longer than 5 minutes about myself without interrupting and pulling the conversation back to them. Oh sure, if I weren’t discussing a deep issue and just having friendly conversation I’d be allowed to talk all night, but as soon as it turns toward the negative and suddenly the person either has to go, or the discussion gets turned back to them. How did this happen? Is it my own fault for internalizing my problems for most of my life? Is it my fault for not speaking up sooner? Is it my fault for surrounding myself with these types of people? Do these people even realize they’re doing it?

Of course these are rhetorical questions. Just please, if you recognize yourself as one of those that leans on someone around you as a sounding board. Take the time to ask them how they’re doing. Then when they answer, actually listen to their answer! Let them know you’re listening. You’re friendship will be stronger for it.

We lost another great comedian Thursday with the passing of Harvey Korman.  I’ve been all over youtube looking at old clips of his work.  I can’t believe I’d never seen this one.  I think I laughed harder at this then at anything I’ve seen recently on current television…check it out-

Rest in peace Harvey, you will be missed!!

This has been such a busy few weeks. Whew! I don’t even think I can put it all into words. I’m sure this blog will be scattered all over the board, but hey what else is new, right?

Let’s start with something that will probably come as a complete shock to my family unless my sister spilled the beans, which I doubt. I’ve been seeing someone for the past few months. I’m talking about it now, because It’s about to end. I think this is the first time I’ve ever been in well, whatever this has been that hasn’t ended by either my choice or his. I’ll explain a little.

I met this really great man. After meeting him I found out he was in the army stationed at the army base not far from my house. This was just prior to my trip to Virginia and North Carolina. We decided we wanted to go out and get to know one another better, but I was leaving for my trip in five days and he was leaving for Iraq in the same amount of time. His current job was to travel back and forth for short time periods and do evaluations. He’d be gone for six weeks, oh-but he’d have email that he may or may not have time to checkJ. Between our schedules there was one day we mutually had available. I honestly believe it was one of the best dates I’ve had in my entire life, and trust me I’ve been dating so long I’m exhausted (as paraphrased from Charlotte in Sex and the City)! We had a couple brief phone conversations after while I was out of town then he was gone, and gone and gone. I was left with all my stupid chick insecurities as to whether or not he would remember me, was I emailing him too often? Blah, blah, blah…He FINALLY came home and sure enough he called…to tell me 1) In five days the Army would be sending him to Texas for 10 days. And 2) at the end of May he would be transferred to Ft. Bragg permanently…

What to do?? We had another wonderful date during the one weekend he was home between trips. Was this a mistake, knowing he was only here a short time? I had friends whispering in my ear to make sure I was still working on my “plan B”-meaning keep my options open. Well, right or wrong the decision I’ve made is to spend as much time with him as possible while he’s here. I can’t help it, I like the guy. When he came home from his Texas trip he had even more information. In December he is being deployed for a year to Afghanistan for his third tour. Now am I really being an idiot for not cutting all ties with him knowing any kind of future with him is out of the question at least for the next year and a half? My heart says no. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t love him. I haven’t known him long enough to make that kind of proclamation. I do care about him, I will worry about him and I will miss him-a lot. I hope he will miss me too. Then in 18 months…who knows.

This is the final weekend I have with him. Tuesday he’ll leave to collect his two little girls from his ex-wife and bring them here for a week or so while he’s on leave. I’ll be doing some family portraits for him, something for him to take with him over seas. After that, he’ll be gone.

Oh, but he wants me take his fish! Ugh! His fish??? Oh Lordy! I can’t keep a plant alive, let alone fish! Aunt Nancy, if you’re reading this, do you feel like fostering some fish? I know I’m not asking my brother and sister in-law. How many Bobby the fish have come and gone through that house??? Just sayin’! So yeah, I’ll probably end up with some fish. I don’t know anything about them so don’t ask. I’m not even sure he does. All I know is that they are fresh water, tiny and silver. In fact when I first saw them I accused him of keeping minnows in his fish tank. Ha!

So there you have it. My secret life out in the open. I’ll be sad for a while, yes. But in the long run I know I won’t have regretted one minute of these past few months.

Now, on to work-

The past two weeks I’ve been working ½ days at both my old job and my new job. Last week it was a disaster. This week was much better. Last week I had a meeting with my new department to go over what my responsibilities would be. All of a sudden almost every person in that department pipes up with the fact that they do their job all by themselves and that MY job should be to back them up. WTF? I keep my composure and sit there quietly and let them continue to bounce ideas around, after all I am the new person here. The new boss is still brainstorming, but all be damned the meeting ended with this crew actually wanting me to not only be each and every one of their back-ups, but they also want me to do all the crap work in this department. Not only no, but uhm..hell no!

I left that meeting so discouraged. I went straight into my current manager’s office, she saw I was upset and asked what was wrong. I told her I thought I had buyer’s remorse. She asked what I had bought. I said, I new job! She laughed and asked if I wanted to come back. I told her I couldn’t she’d already replaced me. She gave this little smile and said never say never…It seems she and my director are cooking up something. My suspicions were confirmed yesterday when my director sat himself down at my desk yesterday for no apparent reason except to small talk. He was giving me the sad puppy dog eyes he’d been flashing through this whole transition process. I told him he had six months to work something up. He said six months, huh? What’s that? November? December? I said yes-but you better make it good they’re going to be really mad at me if I leave them just to take my old job back…He just nodded his head. I’m curious what exactly may be going on in those two’s heads.

So there you have my work life. I start my new job full time on Monday. I realize I do need to learn all jobs in the department, however I was recruited for this position and in my interview it was explained to me specifically why I was wanted. The duties outlined in that meeting were not it. I’ll have to keep an open mind and see where this goes.

Have a great weekend everyone-

I just came from watching my Godson’s Cub Scout spring campout where I watched him move from a Webelo I to a Webelo II. It seems like 5 minutes ago he was a tiny little tiger scout. Now in 9 short months he’ll be a Boy Scout. Again, it’s a good thing I don’t age as fast as the kids do!

Each year at the campout the scouts have a flag retirement ceremony. It’s long, but I get choked up each and every time. I think it’s worth reading the following dialogue and remembering again exactly what our flag stands for.

Remember Me? Yeah, that’s right, red & white stripes, fifty stars on a blue field in the upper left corner, I am your Flag, but I’ve also been know by “Old Glory”, the “Stars and Stripes”, and the “Star Spangled Banner”. Whatever you call me, I am the flag of the United States of America.

I remember years ago that people used to honor me, fly me with pride outside their homes and at work, and children in school would pledge their Allegiance to me every day. They would carry me in parades and people would watch and salute me with pride as I passed by, proudly waving in the wind.

When men and woman saw me coming, the men removed their hats and placed it over their hearts and the women placed their right hands over theirs. And their children were taught respect for the flag, and what to do as well. Now I’m lucky if they even recognize me, or even notice me at all. Now, the young boys and girls make fun of those who carry me, and call them names. They haven’t learned, or don’t remember about the thousands of men and women who gave up their lives for me. People who knew the meaning of Freedom, Liberty, Justice, and Peace.

Why has this happened? I’m still your American Flag. I haven’t really changed that much… just added a few stars over the years, been a whole lot more places, and through it all, stood strong by you. Why don’t people respect me the same way they used to? A lot of blood has been shed since those parades of long ago. A lot more men and women have died defending me. When you honor me, you honor those men and women who gave up every-thing for your freedom. When I am flown, I see people not notice. When I am in a parade, I see people just stand there, with their hands in their pockets. I may get a small glance, but then you look away. Next time, please notice and respect me. Next time stand and be proud to be an American Citizen!

I see the young children of today running around and not being taught how to act when I’m around don’t the parents of today care? Don’t they know how to act? I saw one man start to take off his hat and looked around and saw no one else doing it, so just put it back on. I saw some kids calling the Boy Scouts who were carrying me names and making fun of them. I saw many just sit there as I passed by, talking with one another like I didn’t even exist. Is it now wrong to be patriotic? Have today’s Americans forgotten what I stand for and where I’ve been?

If you don’t care, who will? If you don’t teach our children what I stand for, and how to act around me, who will? If our children don’t learn how to respect our flag, what it means to defend our country, and how important Freedom, Liberty, and Patriotic Duty is, what future does our mighty country have? So, when you see me; stand straight, think about what I stand for; think about all of the Americans that have died for our country, and place your right-hand over your heart or salute to honor me. I’ll be saluting you back by waving strong and proud in the wind. And I’ll know that you remembered me.

I am your Flag. I was born on June 14, 1777. I am more than just a piece of cloth shaped into a colorful design; I am the silent sentinel of freedom for the greatest sovereign nation on earth. I am the inspiration for which America patriots gave their lives and fortunes; I am the emblem of America.

I have led your sons into battle from Valley Forge to Vietnam. I have been there though the Civil War, Two World wars, at Gettysburg, Flanders, Korea, the Gulf War, all of them. I was there with George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, and I here with you now.

I have flown through Peace and War. Through strife and Prosperity, and amidst it all, I have always been respected. My red stripes symbolize the blood spilled in defense of this glorious nation. My white stripes, the burning tears shed by Americans who lost their sons in battle. My blue field represents God’s Heaven under which I fly, and my stars, clustered together, unify the fifty states as one for God and Country.

I am “Old Glory” and I proudly wave on high. Honor me, respect me, and defend me with your lives. Never let our enemies tear me down from my lofty position, lest I never return. Keep alight the fires of patriotism, strive earnestly for the spirit of democracy, and keep me always as a symbol of freedom, liberty, and peace in our country.

When it comes the time when I am old and faded, do not let me fly in disrepair, rather Retire me from my duties only to replace me with a new flag so that I may continue to symbolize our country. With this, renew your commitment to what I stand for and pledge your allegiance to me one final time:

“Scout Salute! To the audience: Please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance:”

**”I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic, for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and Justice for all.”

As you can see, this banner of freedom before you is worn, tattered, and soiled from use and age. Her broad stripes are no longer a fiery red & pure white, but faded and worn out. The stars and blue background are no longer vivid reminders of our blue skies and great land, of the purity, vigilance, and justice she should represent. She has flown proudly over the years and has done her job well, but now she must be replaced with a new flag to properly represent this great Nation of ours.

Retiring the Colors: (Repeat as needed)

The flag of our Nation should always be a strong, vivid symbol of our land and fly brightly in our minds. Our flag is a symbol of our people, our freedom, and our strength. So it is now that I commit this flag, which no longer can fulfill these duties to the fire so that we may replace it with a new flag to properly symbolize our Nation. May the spirit of this flag be born again in the new flag we will now fly.”

“Scouts Salute”