It is Sunday, June 14 and there are only 150 days until my birthday.  It’s never too early to start shopping.  Today we remember the birthdays of Harriet Beecher Stowe, Burl Ives and Donald Trump.  On this day in 1642 the first compulsory education law in America was passed by Massachusetts, in 1881 the player piano was patented by John McTammany, Jr. in Cambridge, MA and in 1976 the “Gong Show” premiered on TV.  In Afghanistan it is Mother’s Day, in Massachusetts it is Children’s Day (my mother used to claim that every day was children’s day) and in the US it is Flag Day.

On June 14th, 1885, Bernard J. Cigrand, a 19 year old teacher at Stony Hill School in Waubeka, Wisconsin placed a 10 inch, 38- star flag in a bottle on his desk then assigned essays on the flag and its significance. This observance commemorated Congress’s adoption of the Stars and Stripes as the flag of the United States on June 14, 1777. This observance was also the beginning of Cigrand’s long years of fervent and devoted effort to bring about national recognition and observance of Flag Day. The crowning achievement of his life came at age fifty when President Wilson, on May 30, 1916, issued a proclamation calling for a nationwide observance of Flag Day. Then in 1949, President Truman signed an Act of Congress designating the 14th day of June every year as National Flag Day. On June 14th, 2004, the 108th U.S. Congress voted unanimously on H.R. 662 that Flag Day originated in Waubeka, Wisconsin.

Flag Day is a day for all Americans to celebrate and show respect for our flag, its designers and makers. Our flag is representative of our independence and our unity as a nation ... one nation, under God, indivisible.  Our flag has a proud and glorious history.  It was at the lead of every battle fought by Americans.  Many people have died protecting it.  It even stands proudly on the surface of the moon.  As Americans, we have every right to be proud of our culture, our nation, and our flag.  So raise the flag today and every day with pride!  

Thank you for your attention.  We now return you to our regularly scheduled program.  … but no one ever wants to follow those rules.  I am not sure why.  We recently had some major roadwork done on the main street at the top of our hill.  There were signs up for several days warning that the road would be closed.  If you drove along it you could see that they were getting ready to repave it.  A few days ago I was out for my daily walk.  Just before you reached the area where they were paving, there was a big sign in the middle of the road that stated ROAD CLOSED.  There was really no way to miss it.

So there I was walking along approaching a gaggle of police officers (is there an official term for several cops standing around together?) and they all turned to watch a car drive around the barricade and continue on toward them.  One of the officers flagged the car down and asked what part of road closed he did not understand.  “But I have to get over there to that street,” he said, pointing to a road in the middle of where all the equipment was working.

“Putting aside the fact that you drove around a barricade that said road closed, how do you expect to get to that street with all the equipment in the way?”  I had to keep on walking so I did not hear his response.  What I did hear was laughter from the gaggle and a minute or so later, I saw the car driving past me going the other way.  I assume he finally got to where he was going.

Not following rules has become a way of life.  There is a traffic law that states that you cannot cross a solid line.  The law does not say you can’t cross a solid line unless the car in front of you is not going fast enough and is annoying you in which case you can cross the line and speed ahead.  You see this kind of thing all the time.  I don’t usually read every single article in the paper every day so I must have missed the one that stated that it has been decided that all our laws are now just suggestions.  The laws are what we would like you to do, but do what works for you.  My father always said, “Let your conscience be your guide.”  When I was young my conscience had some problems, but I at least tried to follow most of the rules. 
 
Most people seem to feel that rules and regulations are for the other people.  The sign on the store says no food or beverages, “But I just bought this coffee and I am not going to just throw it away.  I want to go shopping here so too bad for them.”  They walk in and do what they want.  The people in the store see them, but either don’t want to get into an argument; or don’t want to create a scene; or don’t care, so nothing is said.  I have always felt that if we have a rule or a law, then that rule or law should be enforced.  I know I have said this a number of times in the past, but I believe it – if the police enforced the traffic laws on a regular basis, we would be able to solve all the budget issues in the state in less than a year.  Except for the 55 speed limit.  Even I think that is ridiculous.

This week our fact tells us that Kemo Sabe means “soggy shrub” in Navajo.  So when Tonto calls the Lone Ranger that is he intimating something about the masked man?  Is that a euphemism for something?  Does the Lone Ranger need to be sitting in a bath tub (think about it)?  Maybe that was why he wore the mask.  Poor soggy shrub.