I have a question. Why do we pledge allegiance to the flag? Why don't we just directly pledge allegiance to the republic? I always feel funny about that, because I don't feel much allegiance to that particular design. Anyone?

It's to show your sincere gratitude that your flag isn't any of these ones: [link]

happy birthday, Trudy!!! And, Kara!!

Care to come and take on DD and 50 Intensive English 3 students?

Dude, I'm hiding in the corner with Jen and rooting you on.

I just don't feel that I have any allegiance to it. Do you? Is it just me?

Personally, I hate saying the pledge every morning. Feels a bit Loyalty to the Fatherland. Flag = piece of fabric. Granted, that fabric is loaded with symbolism of an ideal democracy, but still. Fabric.

Really? I mean, I don't mind facing it, as a symbol. I just don't feel that I have any allegiance to it. Do you? Is it just me?

I think it depends on your experience. One of my first memories of the U.S. flag is seeing the folded triangle that was the flag on my Uncle Ernie's coffin (he died at age 19 in Vietnam). So my family had a great deal of reverence for it. My dad was in the military and was commander of our American Legion post so there were a lot of flag bearing duties and military funerals in my childhood. It's just a thing, I suppose, but that's what I remember.

Emily, flags have been very important in organized societies for a very long time. They started out as military symbols and for communication purposes from Rome and to Medieval times. This was how you figured out where you stood and to determine friend from foe. It's sort of a convenient thing to have a concrete object to focus on when pledging.

"We stole countries with the cunning use of flags. Just sail around the world and stick a flag in. 'I claim India for Britain!' And they're going, 'You can't claim us, we live here! There's five hundred million of us!'

" 'Do you have a flag?'

" 'We don't need a bloody flag, this is our country, you bastard!'

" 'No flag, no country! You can't have one! That's the rules, that... I've just made up.' "

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TRUDY & KARA!

Oh, okay, I guess I'm serial-posting. (I had more in the posting box for the post above, but it didn't take.)

EXCELLENT billboard, Tep!

So, theoretically, if someone you'd worked with for almost 5 years walked in one morning and had BLACK HAIR instead of the fading pink/purple she'd had yesterday...you'd notice, right?

Jessica, you'd think so. But some people are amazingly unobservant.

And, in the news, an Australian minister parties too hearty.

ha!

"I subsequently put it to former minister Brown late last night that there are too many reports of you in your underwear for me to ignore."

if someone you'd worked with for almost 5 years walked in one morning and had BLACK HAIR instead of the fading pink/purple she'd had yesterday...you'd notice, right?

While on the surface, this may seem like a simple question, I think that pictures are required for further analysis.

Gronk.

Don't wanna go to work. Wanna stay at home with Windsparrow until she goes to work and then fall over asleep on the couch with Harvey the cat napping on top of me.

Oh well. I can do that tomorrow.