Originally Posted by
cevans
I was born,,,red, white, and blue,,and many of you reading this post,,will laugh,,but I am going to make this a lengthy posting. I was born in the decorating business. My family had a business,,in the spring, summer, and fall,,traveled all over the United States, in every burg, village, town, and city, that had a birthday celebration. They are called Diamond Jubilees, Centennials, Sesquicentennials, and so on..they still have them today,,but not on the grand scale that brought the communites and families together back then,,,the last celebrations I decorated were in 1985, in the Dakotas, Montanna, and Colorado. My father owned the decorating company,,we traveled building parade floats, selling and hanging flags for all the businesses and communties, then in the fall, and winter,,did trade shows mostly in Indiana. When I was old enough to hold a broom,,,my father let me work in his warehouse cleaning it for $21.50 a week. That was in the 50's, Back then, I thought I was rich,,sweeping the shop, once a day,,for 21 meals a week,,and 50 cents as spending money, That was alot of money to a kid that wasn't even in his teens back then. As I grew stronger and older, as soon as school let out for the summer,,I couldn't wait to travel with the crews,,carrying a ladder or stepladder, hanging flags along side the other guys working for minium wage. When I turned 16,,my father wouldn't let me get a drivers license, even tho, I had taken drivers training in school and was then, legal age to go and get my license. One day,,when he was out of crewmen, and need 1000 flags delievered to the crew in Loran, Ohio...he took me unexpectedly to the drivers branch,,and without any notice,,let me get my license that morning. Then when I got home,,he loaded a van with the flags, threw a road map at me,,and said get my butt to Loran, Ohio as the crew there was out of flags for their centennial celebration. Mom really threw a hissy fit,,but lost the argument,,and so,,began my travels and feelings of freedom.
I have traveled the US in every state since that day. I don't need a road map anywhere,,as I have been everywhere in every state, except Maine, and New Hampshire. But,,I have been in over 5000 cities in my short life following how this great country developed and grew. Following first the rivers, then the wagon trails, then the rail roads, then finally,,the highways that developed and built this great country of ours. Growing up and learning about the history of these places i worked in,,as they all had a pagent that told of their development, their pioneers that founded each place we live in and why that city or burg is there. Its special place in history. Part of this country's growing history. Their problems that they encountered trying to live and raise a family. I have traveled the wagon trails,,from Texas, up threw the Oregon Trail all the way to Portland next to the Columbia River Gorge..spending time in those communites with the locals and becoming apart of their history for a brief moment of a couple of weeks that I passed through there. Hanging and selling Red, White, and Blue,,and Patriotism..that we all have lost a part of in a small small way today.
I went to college in the late 60's,,and watched the country tear apart with the Vietnam war. My mother made me go to college as she didn't want to see me drafted. Being from a small town in Indiana,,most every male of the age of 18 got drafted. It hit hard,,all my friends, my cousins, everybody I knew,,except for a couple of guys,,got drafted. The few I knew, either were going to college, becoming school teachers, or had a family hardship, or medical issue that kept them out of the draft. So I really felt alienated by being made to go to college. I lasted 1.5 yrs at Purdue,,and finally,in Oct of 69 while at Purdue,,couldn't take it any longer and dropped out. My draft number was 151, and being reclassified 1-A..in Oct..got my draft notice to report to the draft center and the Army. Well, I didn't want to go Army,,so still at college,,went to the Marine Corps Recruiting office at West Lafayette,,joined the Marines. While at college, I learned to scuba dive, mt. climb, sky dive, cave,,all threw their outing clubs that that offered so was pretty much brazen in my lifestyle and the Marines seemed to suit my wild lifestyle. Because of the Nixon years, and politics of the war, after training in the Marines for more than 7 months solid,,then getting orders for West Pac., which meant Vietnam bound, I was given a 30 day leave. Went on it,,home,. partied hard,,then reported back to Camp Pendleton,,and my orders had been changed to Stateside duty. I was pissed, upset, and mad to say the least, but finally found a way to volunteer and get to to Vietnam. I had to experience what my cousins, and friends had experienced. I didn't want to be left out.
Coming back from Vietnam,,was a mind bending experience. I tried going back to college. This time,,ISU in Terre Haute. This was Jan. of 1972. This country was a mess. Politically and emotionally. I lasted 2 weeks at ISU,,and after having been thrown out of a US history class 101, taught by a communist card carrying professor the first day at class, only because I was a Vietnam Vet. showed me I had no place in college. It destroyed me emotionally. I came home, and went to work for dad and the decorating buiness and eventually after his retirment,,bought my half of it, and ran it with him interfering the way a father would,,constantly teaching me the rights and wrongs of my management of the company. However, the country had changed. People had changed. Towns and cities had changed. Ideals, Opinions, Beliefs, and Lifestyles had changed. We did good business in the trade shows. We did very bad business in the flag and parade floats. You couldn't even sell one American Flag in the 70's or give away the Red, White, and Blue bunting type flags anymore. Communties no longer celebrated and to this day..do you see a full blown birthday celebration of a communty or city today. Families fragmented..split,,went their ways. We all developed either life in the fast lane, today we have become so technoloical,,that now our schools are no longer going to teach penmanship, but key boarding to the kids..(brand new ruling by the state this week). But, You couldn't sell a American Flag to anybody. That was the business I was in,,so I know. Finally,,in 1985, my last celebration, as I never gave up till then..was Montrose, Colorado. I had finally lost so much money, pursuing a dream, a idelogy of what this country was founded on, a history, a belief, In 1992,,merged my company and now part of the 2nd largest trade show contracting company in the US out of our Indianapolis Office.
This country was founded by people that fled politcal and religious persecution by the first boatload of Pilgrims that came to a new land, because of their beliefs. They seeked freedom. Freedom to worship. Freeom to live anyway they chose to. Freedom from opression of laws, and taxation. Freedom that meant many gave their lives coming here,,as there was nothing for them but hardship in scraping out a lifestyle..meant eating what ever they could kill, find, steal off the land, fish, grow. They had nothing when they came, and made everything.
Which brings me to some questions you might be thinking about and is building inside you. What is happening to us now? Are we fragmenting, and splitting again? As a country? Have we become so worried that we don't want to face the realities of change, rules, taxes, regulations, that our government is going to, has already thrown at us, and is what we have to look forward to in the next couple of years? So many of you, are silent. Just reading the forum posts, not commenting, and yet, some of you, are so frustrated, almost screaming don't talk about this and that,,don't bring it up, don't mention anything but fishing or hunting, wow,,cevans and rico, has to be tea partiers. wow, condem what they say. Are you actually afraid that your freedoms are being right now, challenged? Are you afraid that you are not going to be able to afford the cost of fishing and hunting or by having more regulations thown at your freedoms that its going to complicate how you fish and hunt? Let alone be free to live a life your so used to living now?
In this post. I am not going to point out, what our government is going to throw at us. The new rules,,the new regulations, the new taxes, the new costs of freeom of the future. Its all up to you people to decide, how and what is going to affect you and your family. It is all up to you, to become vocal, or remain silent. No matter what we say or do individually cannot effect change anyhow. But! in taking sides,,banding together,,masses can create and make change, that so few ideolgists have created now.
Today is Independence Day. We celebrate, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. We celebrate our political freedoms that so many fought, died for, and will fight in the future for. May you all be happy with your life and the pursuit of happiness. May you all enjoy your freedom of expression, be it here, at home, or in public. To those I have offended with this posting, I offer no apologys as I express, right or wrong,,my freedom of expression to say what ever I want. You have the same rights as I.
