Petunia rambles on and on….

I work in a secured area, inside a secured area, inside what you could call a “gated community.”    I have to go through security checks to get in.  Drive up and show an ID, which is scrutinized.  I’m checked to make sure I match the picture on the card.  Every day.  The card is handled, turned over and checked. 

I am a “child of the sixties,” back when we drove around with the volume turned up as loud as it would go.  And now, I have this fancy Audiophile package in my car, so i have more speakers than brain cells.  And I still, when alone, crank that volume knob almost to the point that the windows start to vibrate.  With little care to what others think.  Realize, too, that a “child of the sixties” is now at or near retirement age.

Last week, Jerry Reed died.  I was not a great fan, but certainly we all knew his music and enjoyed it.

When I pulled up to the gate that day, ID card in hand and radio louder than really necessary, out came “When you’re hot, you’re HOT!!!”   And the young guard looked oddly at me.

 

All day, it’s been like a shadow, following me, silently, just behind me, I think.   The images.  The emotions of that horrible day.  The sight of fire shooting out from the tower.  The fear, the horror, the disbelief that someone, anyone, would do this to another human being. 

Will there be more?  What will be next?  We all asked those same questions, whispered them, and were afraid to think of the answers.   I think we should still be afraid, and asking a lot more questions than we have.  And we should never drop our guard or our vigilance.

And we still should be displaying our flag, on every flagpole, at every house, at every business, every day, like we did when we were one nation, right after the attacks. 

Why are so few out now?  What has changed since those horrible days, that we all decided to take our flags down?  Too much trouble?  Might offend the neighbors?  Got better things to do with our time?

My son-in-law will be home from Iraq in a matter of days, God willing.  This is his second “visit” over there.  Some have done so much for all that we have, some have given so very much more. 

And the folks back home are too fucking lazy to put out a flag???

My thoughts are with those who suffered loss seven years ago today.  And with all those who wear a uniform in support of their country, those that are wearing our American uniforms, and other countries who have given aid to the cause.

And there’s a good one, over here.  If you’re using IE, you may have to scroll down past the sidebars to see the post.  I told her to go in and edit the CSS and make the “container” bigger, wider; she told me to use a different browser.