American Flag

THE UBIQUITOUS appearance of American flags throughout our community in the days following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks has brought a cavalcade of color to our ordinary byways. It is a stunning display made all the more poignant on these days when the brilliant late summer sunshine stands in such profound contrast to the darkness that has enveloped our country and our hearts. Our region has seen other Septembers when the welcome break from summer's humidity has provided the backdrop for our nation's greatest perils.

Editor: On behalf of the VFW 8126 and auxiliaries, I would like to thank Huber Corporation for keeping the American flag flying at the overpass at Juniata Street in Havre de Grace with a light shining on same. This is greatly appreciated. Thank you for your patriotism. Helen Zengel Havre de Grace

In a stiff breeze, more than 3,000 elementary and high school students from across Maryland stood tall today to create a living American flag at Fort McHenry -- even though their Old Glory was shy two stars.The students, who represented 22 out of Maryland's 24 counties, held sections of red, white and blue cardboard to form the flag that stretched out the size of a football field. They also held 48 stars instead of the usual 50 because two were broken and not used.However, that didn't affect the spirits of the participants.

The Orioles announced their lineup of pre-game activities for Friday's Opening Day today, with a nod to the 20th anniversary of Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Fans are encouraged to be in their seats by 2:30 p.m., when ceremonies will begin. Gates open at noon. The first pitch The same pitcher and catcher who opened the stadium in 1992 will be on the mound and behind the plate for the anniversary pitch. Rick Sutcliffe, the tall right-hander who threw a five-hit shutout in the O's 2-0 win over the Cleveland Indians on April 6, 1992, will deliver the ceremonial first pitch to catcher Chris Hoiles.

A huge American flag that flew at the side of Route 140 near Liberty Reservoir to "welcome people to Carroll County" was stolen from its flag pole in front of W & W Tire and Auto Service in Finksburg over the weekend.Joe Emery, service manager for the company in the 3200 block of Baltimore Blvd., said the all-weather, 18-by-25-foot flag was hoisted up the pole in September as a greeting to motorists from Baltimore County as they crossed the border into Carroll.A smaller flag had been placed on the pole July Fourth while the company was waiting for delivery of the larger flag, he said.

FOR THE first time in my life, I'm the proud owner of an American flag. For days, I searched during shopping excursions, while running errands, for a scrap of red, white and star-spangled blue to hang from my apartment balcony. At every store, every site, I'd get the same response from employees: There's been a run, they'd say, on patriotism. I thought about digging through the old boxes that store the items from my childhood. But just as I'm certain I've owned dozens of flags throughout my 30 years -- remnants from the parades and holiday parties of my school years -- I'm equally certain that each and every one occupies space at the bottom of a landfill somewhere.

Pity the poor Star-Spangled Banner. In the 184 years since it inspired lawyer Francis Scott Key to turn poet for a day, the huge flag has had a tough life.It's been cut up for souvenirs, had a couple of million stitches applied to it and been subjected to untold hours of sunlight and dirty air.Thankfully, the nation's conservators have taken note. And as detailed tonight on The History Channel, they're doing something to ensure the Baltimore-born flag hangs around to inspire generations of Americans not yet born.

They came to the New Windsor War Memorial last night wearing the colors of Old Glory herself, ready to pledge her spirit and sing her praises.About 25 people -- mostly older citizens -- turned out for the annual Flag Day ceremony where song and silence both were testimony to the crowd's reverence of the nation's flag."

PHILADELPHIA -- Many a schoolchild can recite the story of Betsy Ross. .....It is a story as simple and evoc-ative as any good fable, impressing upon generations of Americans a collective memory of the humble seamstress in her demure white cap, the first Stars and Stripes unfurled over her lap. Yet that might be the least interesting part of her tale. What's more, no one can say with certainty that Betsy Ross made the first flag. Or that there was a first flag. That's the kind of story this is. As one historical consultant has put it, "These are complex as well as vexed matters."

Why would someone who loves America burn an American flag? Ask Graeme Zielinski, who was a senior at the University of Wisconsin in 1995. That year, he burned a flag on the campus square in Madison."

Pat Buchanan might have seen the end of the line coming at MSNBCwhen, last month, network president Phil Griffin commented on his latest book, "Suicide of a Superpower," by saying, "I don't think the ideas that [Buchanan] put forth are appropriate for the national dialogue, much less on MSNBC. " When Mr. Buchanan was let go last week after 10 years as a commentator on the network, no one was surprised. I don't agree with some of Mr. Buchanan's ideas, especially regarding Jews, his questioning of whether World War II had to happen or whether the United States should be involved militarily in the Middle East, but he has every right to his ideas, as we all have the right to our own. It's called free speech.

Just as they did with flying American flags over highway overpasses a decade ago, State Highway Administration officials should find a way to allow well-meaning citizens to fly flags in places such as traffic circles. The issue arose a couple of weeks ago in Woodbine. The Winkler family had been tending a small American flag in a traffic circle just north of Route 70 on Woodbine Road since they erected it three years ago to welcome home a nephew returning from an Army base before being sent to Afghanistan.

As a fan of Maryland - the university, the football team and the state itself - I have very much enjoyed The Sun's recent excellent coverage of the big Terrapin win against the integrity-challenged University of Miami football team. In addition to the game reports, I have also read with keen interest the articles about the new Maryland uniforms, which appear to have received an energetic thumbs-down from many in the national media and other self-appointed arbiters of style. I really like the uniforms, and my affection for them only grew when I learned that the LeBron James really did not. More importantly, though, I think the wide range of folks who weighed in (negatively)

The two seemingly unrelated events took place only a day apart. On the 19th of June, a 22-year-old Northern Irishman waved his putter in triumph on the 18th green of the Congressional Country Club in Bethesda. A day later, at the Park Shore Centre Government Building in Charleston, S.C., a petite, 41-year-old Thai immigrant waved her small American flag and held up her Certificate of Citizenship. The golfer's victory was shared by a gallery of thousands. Millions watched worldwide as the young man broke records and told the press he had realized the dream of his short lifetime.

Television has long played a key role in helping us understand, appreciate and celebrate holidays. Think "A Charlie Brown Christmas" or viewing the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in your livingroom. Monday, HBO premieres a new documentary from Alexandra Pelosi, "Citizen U.S.A.: A 50 State Road Trip. " And I promise that if you give this modest little film an hour of your time, you will feel renewed, uplifted and possibly even inspired about being an American despite the troubled times in which we live.

During the Fourth of July weekend in Baltimore, there will be plenty of flags flying and beers sipped. This connection between the American flag and Baltimore beer goes back almost 200 years and played a small but interesting role in history. During the War of 1812, seamstress Mary Pickersgill was hard at work on the large American flag that would eventually fly over Fort McHenry and inspire Francis Scott Key to write the poem that would become The Star Spangled Banner. In the summer of 1814, Washington had just been burned, and the British were turning their attention to Baltimore, then the third largest port in America and home to privateers, a nemesis of the British Navy.

BARCELONA, Spain -- The shoe wars erupted before a TV audience of 3 billion people. And it looks like Nike won. Or, at least, Michael Jordan did.Jordan, the centerpiece of Nike's promotional efforts, had balked at wearing the official United States Olympic Committee awards-ceremony uniform, which was made by Reebok and featured a Reebok patch on the right shoulder.When the U.S. basketball team took the medal stand yesterday after beating Croatia, 117-85, for the expected gold medal, all 12 players -- half work for Nike -- had unzipped their jackets so that the collars obscured the patch.

Paul Plamann isn't the kind of person who likes to tell people when they've done something wrong. But when it comes to the American flag, he can't help but speak up.This was the case one day last autumn when, while driving by a bank near his Gardenville home, the 61-year-old Army veteran saw an American flag whose broad stripes and bright stars had lost their perilous fight against time and the elements. The flag was shredded and worn, in other words, "just not flyable," he explains.Plamann sent the bank a polite, anonymous postcard suggesting they replace their flag with a new banner.

Kenny Driscoll asked Patty, his wife, to hand him his crutches. He didn't like what he was seeing and wanted to get out of his truck and take action. Mr. Driscoll is a retired Baltimore police detective who in 2002 lost the use of his left leg after tumbling down a ravine in North Baltimore while chasing a carjack suspect. Every Memorial Day, he and his wife visit his wife's uncle's grave in Oak Lawn Cemetery on Eastern Avenue. Charles Leroy Parker, known to everyone by his middle name, died four years ago. He was a Marine veteran who had served two tours in Vietnam.

As a former Republican (I left the party in protest over the Iraq War), I cringe at what's happened to the GOP. Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin "gets it right" in your opinion because she believes competition will breed success, but competition among whom and about what? ("Sarah Palin gets it right," May 31.) The Republican presidential field is pathetic, in my opinion, and you can't turn mice into racehorses. Sarah Palin is the queen mouse of all time. Perhaps we should be awed that Ms. Palin visited Fort McHenry, read "The Star-Spangled Banner" and even managed to lift a canon ball.