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Wednesday, June 14, 2017

Wednesday's Wisdom: Honor The U.S.A.'s Flag


Yesterday, June the 13th, I had hoped to make a day trip to The Fire Island Lighthouse. It is can be seen within the image atop this entry, where an American flag is flying to the lighthouse's left; and, where seagulls, are flying to that flag's left.

I've been to this lighthouse (located within the town of Kismet, on Fire Island), on a number of occasions. And yesterday seemed to be a good time to visit it, as real feel temperatures were in the low hundred degree range. Before nine o'clock in the morning, the actual temperature had reached ninety-six degrees in Central Park!

There are a number of ways to get to The Fire Island Lighthouse. One of them is to take a train (subway) to Penn Station and connect with an LIRR (Long Island Railroad) train to Bayshore, then from there take a taxi to a ferry, which drops passengers off at various towns on Fire Island.
 In bygone years, I've done this route and a ride on the ferry, led by an American flag (as seen below),


sounded like a good remedy for beating the heat. Moreover, the prospect of spending time in the airy tower of the lighthouse, with its open windows, that look out on to the Atlantic Ocean, as well as on to the bay;

sounded refreshing. 

Unfortunately, I had to abandon my wouldn't-it-belovely-plan, in order to accomplish tasks on my home front. Be that as it may, I'm confident that the opportunity will be there within the near future; when my schedule is more open.

In any evident, my seeing the American flag within my photographs of visits (during bygone years) to The Fire Island Lighthouse, is fresh in my mind. Therefore, I'm sharing them with you today because it's Flag Day in the United States.

According to Holiday Insights (HI), "Flag Day, is a day for all Americans to celebrate and show respect for (the) flag, its designers and makers. (The) flag is representative of independence and unity as a nation.....one nation, under God, indivisible. (The) flag has a proud and glorious history. It was at the lead of every battle fought by Americans. Many people have died protecting it."

HI states the basics on displaying  the American flag are the following:

The flag is normally flown from sunrise to sunset.
In the morning, raise the flag briskly. At sunset, lower it slowly. Always, raise and lower it ceremoniously.
The flag should not be flown at night without a light on it.
The flag should not be flown in the rain or inclement weather.
After a tragedy or death, the flag is flown at half staff for 30 days. It's  called "half staff" on land and "half mast" on a ship.
When flown vertically on a pole, the stars and blue field , or "union", is at the top and at the end of the pole (away from your house).
The American flag is always flown at the top of the pole. Your state flag and other flags fly below it.
The union is always on top. When displayed in print, the stars and blue field are always on the left.
Never let your flag touch the ground, never...period.
Fold your flag when storing. Don't just stuff it in a drawer or box.
When your flag is old and has seen  better days, it is time to retire it. Old flags should be burned or buried. Please do not throw it in the trash.

HI points out the "Famous Flag People" as being Betsy Ross (who) was a seamstress who made clothes for George Washington. In June, 1776, Washington approached her to make the country's first flag and the rest is history. (AND) "Francis Scott Key Inspired by the British bombardment of Fort McHenry, Francis Scott Key penned the lyrics to our national anthem as he witnessed the event as British rockets whizzed in the air while our American Flag flew in the breeze."

The former of HI's famous flag people, Betsy Ross, is featured in an educational You Tube video (posted below) which honors Flag Day. 



A number of my visiting figurines like to commemorate Flag Day too, as evidenced in the next set of pictures.





 

Most of these figurines are from More & More Antiques,


a shop on NYC's UWS, that is currently selling My Fauna-Flora-Insect-Themed Cards (as evidenced below).




All of the images that are included in My Fauna-Flora-Insect-Themed Cards, are from both the digital
and soft-cover versions of Cam's book, Words In Our Beak Volume One.



My Fauna-Flora-Insect-Themed Cards and the book, Words In Our Beak Volume One, make a great gift for Fathers ay, which is this coming Sunday; and it's already Wednesday, dear reader!

Therefore, if you plan on getting something for a person who is a father, I urge you to consider these gift options, for as you may know, Fathers Day is for the birds!

ADDENDUM FALL 2018: 

The non-hardcover version (or versions)  of Volume One within the Words In Our Beak book series that are mentioned in this entry may only remain available for a limited time, but hardcover versions of Volume One, Two and Three can now be found wherever books are sold. Please click here to go to my blog post that provides details as to where you can get these books.

MY BOOK SERIES

Additionally, I have rendered some images from these books into other formats and they are available via Fine Art America (FAA). Some of my other photographs (Black & White Collection, Kaleidoscopic Images and the famous Mandarin duck who visited NYC) can also be found on my FAA pages.

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