July Gran'ma Gertie

Howdy Ya’ll!

Gran’ma Gertie here again. July shore is turnin’ out to be a hot one. I reckon I don’t mind so much as long as I got ice in the frigidare fer my tea, and the rockers on my chair don’t wear out! I been thinkin’ a lot about this month. It’s always been a time fer young’uns to have their git-togethers, cold watermelon on summer nights, star watchin’, and flag wavin’. I figered out what seems to be wrong with July nowadays. The young’uns still git together, people still watch the stars, and people still have cold watermelon, ‘cept it’s got cool in the frigidare instead of a washtub. The problem seems to be the flag wavin’.
I don’t rightly know when the flag wavin’ stopped. All I do know is that today, people just don’t have the respect fer Ol’ Glory like they used to. Seems like ever body in town had a flag on their porch in July. They also had’em on Veterans Day and Memorial Day. Now, all these days are nothin’ but sale days fer furniture and automobiles. Don’t people know what these days are fer? Has ever body just fergot?
If’n you ain’t had somebody close to you that was in a war, or got killed in a war, or was sent a letter tellin’ you that somebody was just plain missin’, you may not ever understand. Our young’uns have been blessed by not knowing really what war is, ‘cept what they read in their history books in school. Them books don’t tell it all! Neither do the movies or the politicians. The wars that this country has been through has made it what it is today. My daddy used to say that the best place somewheres else was worse than the worst place here in the good Ol’’ U.S. of A. I tend to believe him.
If’n you got your gran’young’uns over fer an evenin’ this July, tell ‘em what it’s all about. Some things you just cain’t learn from a book. Sometimes the best learnin’ is what you hear from those that got experience and wisdom. If you got that experience and wisdom, share it. If you don’t, then set your bottom down and listen! I’d shore like to see more flag wavin’ goin on. Wouldn’t you?

‘Till next time,

Gran’ma Gertie