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Preparing Old Glory for its special day

June 14 is the birthday of the United States Army. It’s also Flag Day. Supporting our troops and throwing a great big “atta boy” their way is easy. Showing your loyalty to our country ourselves is just as easy. When we make the decision and follow through with the act of putting our red, white and blue outside on full display, we do need a few little moments of instruction. First, we must be clear that there is a difference between indoor and outdoor flags. Indoor models will usually be non-weatherproof design. They will be fringed in gold threads and adorned with gold ...

Rush hour traffic on a vacation Monday

One overloaded black pickup truck plus one fast-changing green light, equals one broken rearview mirror. Not a planned expense on my annual spring getaway to Massachusetts. Returning to my daughter’s house from a visit with old friends, I missed my turn. Ever the explorer, I thought, “I might as well see where this road takes me.” B-I-G mistake. A few miles later, I rounded a rotary, still in the suburbs south of Boston. But in short order, I was in heavy rush hour traffic. OK, Doofus, this is a mess of your own making. Whaddaya gonna do now? Boston’s traffic was voted the ...

Having some faith in Pope Leo

I have lived during the Papacy’s eight popes. The first was Pius XII who died on Oct. 9, 1958. Pope Leo the XIV’s papacy will likely be my last because at 69 he is 10 years younger than I am. He is the first American pope, which was something that many American Catholics thought would never happen. Since his election we have learned that Leo XIV was born in Chicago as Robert Prevost in 1955. He was an altar boy and sang in the choir at his parish and he has two older brothers Louis and John Prevost and that he comes from a strong Catholic family. He entered the Augustinian minor ...

U.S. flag and its pledge far from consistent

It certainly is a grand old flag; probably the most recognizable one in the world. And beautiful. 50 stars shining in a dark blue sky. Red stripes symbolizing the blood shed in defense of the nation and white ones symbolizing its ideals, the most important of which appear at the end of the flag’s pledge — liberty and justice for all. In 1942, the man rated our second best president after Honest Abe, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, signed Executive Order 9066 authorizing the military to establish restricted zones and to remove “aliens” from them. As a result over 110,000 Japanese- ...

Fredonia board not getting message

June 17 is the revote on the failed May school budget. The superintendent and majority of board members continue to double down on their rhetoric of the necessity of assessing Fredonia taxpayers a 1.9% levy increase without delineating any substantive evidence of how and why this is necessary considering New York state aid increased by 8% this upcoming school year. This increase would fully cover the Capital Project approved by the voters last December with an additional 2 percent extra to pad the margin, all at a zero percent tax levy increase to Fredonia residents. The Fredonia ...

Resilience’ is Shakespeare Club literature topic

‘At a recent meeting of the Fredonia Shakespeare Club, Dr. Leanna McMahon presented her paper ‘Resilience In Children’s Literature.” Resilience is the ability to thrive, or at least to cope reasonably well, even in the face of adversity or in the aftermath of trauma. As negative ...