how a little north GA town celebrates their veterans...(edited with pictures!)

When I made that accidental tour of Ringgold on Friday afternoon, I was amazed and delighted to discover that little town is remarkably supportive of all the citizens who joined the military. The streets of town are lined with dozens and dozens of American flags. At the base of each flag, is the name of a veteran, the branch that individual served in and conflicts that were going on at the time each veteran was in the service. So in addition to having the full name of each person on the flag stand, the wording also indicates whether they were in the Army, Navy, Marines or Air Force, and which conflict that service person was engaged in.

I noticed a sign, when I was chasing around, trying to get my copies made to put my letters in the post office, that the town was sponsoring a free concert on Monday afternoon: celebrating Veterans Day. Everyone in town was invited to come and enjoy the music. Don't know if it was the high school band, or just a community group of people who get together to make music, but I suspect there would be lots of rousing military marches involved, along with theme songs from all the different branches of service.

Sad that American has somehow become the peacekeeper/police force for most of the planet, but we should all be thankful there are so many who are willing to step up, be part of an all volunteer force, and provide the first line of defense. I know I am, and am often aware of the blessing of living in the USA. Think about it: here  we are, living in a place where we don't have to have a passport permission/papers to travel across state lines, or have armed men stopping vehicles on a whim to search and confiscate property on a whim. No one checks up on you every time you travel from one county to another, you can drive yourself from the Atlantic to the Pacific (if you have the time and can afford the gas) without being stopped along the way and questioned about who/why/where? Reminding me of the time my dad put his family in the Ford Fairlane Station Wagon and did just that - a story for another time.

Check back here later, when my tech support will insert photos of the rows of flags lining the streets of Ringgold.