So it was Flag Day!



(True Blue- through and Through. Kurt I need one. Piggy & Dirt at etsy store near your computer)



Readers!

I knew the day was coming.

And I had  even unknowingly prepped for it with some stunning wreaths.

 

(This is the year of the wreaths due to my prednisone. Stars and other things. Interesting stuff)

 

A couple of patriotic prednisone ones and then one summer-ish. I've had to eat a few fruit pops to get the wooden stick for the  picket fence that pinterest showed me to put on there- yes, I am that cheap- but it is almost ready to go. Probably be done by the end of summer.

 

 

 

Ya know what? Summer goes so fast, let's just call it over and buy back to school supplies. Everything is going so fast.

 

I knew about Flag Day coming up because of my calendar and writing down when appointments were and I made a mental note the holiday was coming up and I thought:

 

"Oh!

I better get the patriotic stuff put up so that we can
celebrate

 

FLAG  DAY!"
 

 

 

WEll, in the mean time.. Padre and La Madre (Dad and Mom- don't ask) were off to see or wait for a new grandbaby girl. She took her time and was born shortly after J. and I were trying to make it to church on time at 9- THE most brutal hour of churchdom. And sacrament was first. So my little sacrament passer has to be there earlier than just 9. DANG! That is hard.

 

My black shirt dress for the obese, now falling off my shoulders cause what goes up goes down if you work at Crohns and Cushings Co. and you are flaring with the first.

 

 Great! & great.

 

Either way I had to layer a shirt under it so my "life preserver"

 

 

doesn't  spill over like a tsunami onto the banks of a beach, and scare little children. Yeh, thank you Cushings for taking me from 24B to an all around hugeness that looks like a safety donut under my arms and around my body.

Makes typing fun.


I am tempted to take duct tape and move them outta the way.
Did I type that out loud?

 

Okaaaay, so we make church, great talks, meet up with great friends afterward as my shirt continues to fall of and my friends replace it, blah, blah, and

THEN

we drive home


(picture courtesy of mountain.com)

and

all these flags

(photo courtesy of: All-that-is-interest-.com) Interesting handle. )

are standing sentinel, like an army of our best and most elite soldiers, over each house.
and I remember the holiday, (I was in such a hurry in the morning but I don't know if the scouts



(Norman Rockwell's "Boyscouts Arrowheads photo on ebay.- Love it & you, Norman.)

had them on the lawns that early yet, or not. But I was in a hurry and if they were out, I missed them.

But WE made it to church! To be there to REMEMBER Christ and HIS Sacrifice.

J had missed his ride that came earlier, so we slid into' home base in the knick of time!

 I was so tired from working my job. (Crohns & Cushings Co.)

I got to sleep by 4. So now I must go.
(I have no idea where I went while I am editing. I think I foud Jl a new job this summer!)


*Piggy & Dirt bring their New Mexico livin' to their stars: Estrella burns pretty darn good in the light.)

I had some technical teaching difficulties like Padre when I had my notepad and pencil and was

~setting plans for the week
~gave him a pencil and paper and asked him what his goals were for the summer
(he gave me the dullest look for some reason, Readers!)
So I told him mine and what I wanted him to read to me and he blinked a few times and said
Ah-kay.

~ I told him to look at the Communication Board each day and his calendar so he would know where I was and what he needed to do!

This summer is going to be awesome and planned out!



(Special thanks to Nick Zdon At Best Made Co. They have some of the best customer service I have seen and their picture make Jaden yearn for the outdoors. Blessing or Curse?? Not only is Gear good, but so is life. Thanks guys.)

then, after he has done all of his lawns for making money, I can  kick back and enjoy acid in my body that is not where it should be or should stay.

 

I think I grabbed a Werthers then drank out of the fountain during the last hour of Relief Society on Flag Day which was Sunday.



So when we reached our neighborhood my voice was hoarse

 

(Doctors- totally kidding. I had some shake or something as we drove to church and my chest still is burning like the stricture is still double knotted.)
 

NOW, as I slowly turned into our neighborhood driving like Padre- real slow. Don't know why he does this. Unless it goes back to the days when he hot rods. And that's just what ya do.- go slow so everyone can see the shiny chrome.


His green,' 71 Super "Bee" Dodge Charger..- well, this one is from musclecarszone.com. But he had one and there is a pic of my mom carrying "The Torment", all swaddled and she was wearing a belt around her waist after giving birth and she was a size 4. It is in the black photo album with all his Vietnam pics.  This is one of those he probably drove real slow.


(Padre either after or before, or during Basic Training. And one of his slow drivin' cars.)

I also remembered Louie (Read book Unbroken),


(picture courtesy of:  gretawire.foxnewsinsider.com

I recall
the B24 that flew over our house as we were mowing the lawn and how it tipped its wing to me as then landed at the airport a neighborhood away by my parents house.
(this was when I wasn't a stay-at home-daughter and was married. )


(pic courtesy of en.wikipedia.org)

And I recalled my Dad's service in Vietnam.

How, just the other day, when I forgot something he or J. did something he gave one of his

 "In the Army & at War"



which are vet's lessons that they give when they want to share or teach us something.

If you are their offspring they use the material they learned to help raise you and in this particular case,  I must have forgot something or

J. had some lesson to learn

that when someone steals your bike helmet when you had put it down and turned your back or went to play and thought it would be okay because you were at your best friend's house and had no idea that you lived in a neighborhood where people take that stuff
(and maybe your bike if you leave it on the grass),

 and put it on ebay.



That's why we grew up with boards over the windows, nailed in nightly.

 Or Padre woke us up from sleep to pick up our small shovels and buckets left in the sand box- okay he didn't start that early, but he did wake us up to get our bikes put away.

Hated that.

I swear he waited until we were fast asleep to wake us up. Basic Training tactic, I think.
  
(etsy.com- Piggy & Dirt on etsy.com - the center of The FDR Star, is probably a molten lava reminder of how tear gas feels when it enters your pores. ouch. ugghhh the pain. okay.

I will run with a gas mask on if I need to. Or have J. push me in a wheelchair while we both wear hot and sweaty, stinky masks.

Thanks military for keeping that away. )

Padre said:

 

"We used to have to run with blah, blah, and blah and also face masks around our neck and then, if we messed up or did something wrong we had to wear the  

 

face masks,

(photo courtesy of: www.army-mil.com)



 









 (a special device to help your lungs and chest from burning if tear gas
or flying really high and there is no H2O to be found, or a teaching tool for Basic Training.
Or to help you understand what it might be like if acid was poured down your throat if the enemy caught you and made you talk- you could tell them you had acid from your stomach burning up into your ears

 or maybe they could just skip that part and get started on pulling your toe nails out. *This is not to mock the training or our vets, returned or military now serving. )

 

 

AND KEEP RUNNING.

 

I blinked my eyes a bit and thought about how it would be to run, cause I can't, but used to be able to and was actually quite good until a stress fracture, and then I thought of face masks.....

how they have that rubber, Army Surplus smell- Thanks Army Surplus Store for carrying those still- 

and how they are scary. Especially those older versions:



 





(flickriver.com) This is a scary little doll.... eww.

 



I thought of my Dad stopping to get a breather after trying to catch his breath and then him having to run with the face mask on.

OR him making a mistake, Which made me realize that he must know what it's like to run with the face masks on and also how to make mistakes.

I know why he repeats all those "When I was in Training" stories cause he had to learn and he wants us to learn but has the only template in his brain on teaching and that is military tactics


This star is engraved with the words: Be Brave. It is Piggy and Dirt's snowberry star but I wanted it by J's flag in his room. Not just living with Padre does one need to brave the long errands , or the repetitive instructions, but he needs to be brave in life.

J. has been my wing man. The day before a Friday I recall sitting in the chair with a rolled up towel to a point that  kept my chin up.He saw me cough and hack, then aspirate something and finally get it out.

"That's it!" he exclaimed.
as he threw down his blanket onto the bean bag and made sure I kept breathing all night.

Where was I? Oh, Padre's parental tactics......

(www.chambermagic.com)

I hate to break it to him that there might be a different way of teaching when dealing with young children vs. a teem in boot camp/

It's hard to teach an old vet new tricks.

The other day his old man told me that my ol man had trouble mindin'- just like most boys his age. We were talking about some parenting mistakes and then about kids that make mistakes that then make us make mistakes.

Apparently, going into the military can "iron out" those mistakes or not mindin'. I don't know. Never been and either has J. but maybe if we just learn from what Padre tells us, we'll miss any drafts.

(photo of Padre wearing the white pants. ? Those were probably hard to iron and keep clean but if anyone could keep them clean, it was and is him! And I come from a long line of Ironing foremothers)

 

Must have been kinda like in school way back in time when they sent a kid to the corner and they had to wear the dunce hat. Or you were sent to the Principal's office but with a gas mask on .

 

(Norman Rockwell Painting. Love it.)



 



And a gas mask on for good measure. So you could hide behind it in order to endure the blaring looks of classmates.

 

  So l quickly pulled into our drive and the pole, that Padre had installed with cement and ordered from somewhere special to hold several flags at once;

stood bare.

I felt like it was, in a way, me forgetting all those who had made it possible for me to live like I live.
I thought of my friend, named after her Uncle, who was gunned down in WW II. He was a killed.
His position seemed the most vulnerable- or most lonely and freezing.

Due to his small frame and excellent eye site and agility- he was a B-17 "belly" Turret Gunner.

Their position might have been the safest according to some- but there were some draw backs. The blind spot- was your body. And if your mates couldn't pull you outta there before a landing without the use of landing ability....



(photo courtesy of www.vpb-118.com -- Louie was saved by the fact he got a flat tire on the plane he was in or else he would have crashed with his crew off the runway and died like the 36k who died in simply training or non-battle moments due to the plane and other factors..... Thank You, men and women who were in these accidents.)

 well you can only imagine. I'd go by a guy's name if it was after an Belly Turret Gunner.
*see below for more info on these gunners and the plane.

, I supposefter a belly turret Uncle.

The WINDOW

that I decorate like someone on prednisone; empty, except for the fingerprints by grandkids.

 

 

"Scout! I mean J!



(kcet.org; Norman Rockwell: 'Homecoming'

Get the flags out! Hurry! Hop to! We have decorating to do!"

 

J: "Can I at least eat some breakfast?"

 

Yeh, we were in that big of a hurry to get to church.-I had to swallow some stuff to help heart burn onl with saliva so they just in my esophagus until some time toward the end of church.

 

"Everyone has flags in their yard and we need to get ours out so we can celebrate!"
(some kids or the scouts put flags in your yard for a certain amount of money. Smart money maker for some kids and you can be patriotic without even THINKING about it!



8 inches of Freedom! A star that you can put up or hire someone to put up in your window!
Kurt will make it on his etsy shop: Piggy& Dirt and send it to you wrapped I the coolest fashion you will feel like it's Christmas. But I don't know if I can make it to your house to hang this.

Heck, once the 4th happens, time flies. Let's just let Wal-Mart know to put out the decorations for
Christmas.

Why such the fuss over a bare pole??

Well, we learned how to put not only the stars and stripes but we have the Idaho State Flag too and that is tricky. Scouts taught me a lot.


(photo courtesy of normarockwellvt.com)

And the world has taught me that not everyone hangs or folds the flag like I do.
America is a land where this can happen and you aren't spanked for it.

WE have to



(found this gem at xmarksthescot.com- they sell kilts. And blog about some things and this was one subject featured. Never seen it before!

celebrate

that we live in theland of the free,
home of the brave,

and a land

that let's people have freedom of speech.
Like this guy speaking......

(dailyrepublic.com gave us this picture to show some talking from a felow dressed in white. Even if it means desecrating something I honor, I have to honor him.

In my opinion hd needs some Speech Therapy but I can't force him./ maybe he was raised in a home that didn't have wood so they had to use whatever they had to burn. I can't judge.




(baker's twine from etsy shop: {Piggy & Dirt sales the twine too} )
 

Padre, this post is dedicated to you.




(The Reagan Star. I need this too, Kurt! Stop making things for your etsy store called Piggy & Dirt, that I think I need!!!!!)

Glad you are home, Padre, because the drain in the laundry room, is backed up.

Sorry.




 *It was hydraulically operated, thus any damage to those hydraulics left the gunner hanging, yes, there was a manual override to open the hatch and permit the gunner to exit, but it's controls were on the plane side. In addition, the turret had to be in a specific position for it to be entered or exited (a very tight squeeze, I might add. I have heard that most belly gunners did not wear parachutes because of the tight fit). Damage to the pod could lock the gunner in a position he could neither move around nor exit, thus leaving him a sitting duck. Also only one person could get in or out of the pod, so if the gunner was injured, nobody could go down and get him. My uncle further said that at least on his version of the B-17, there was no way to bail out of the belly pod without going back into the body of the plane (which if you left your chute in the body of the plane makes sense