[greymule]

I just got a "Don't Tread on Me" flag (with the snake), a replica of one of the original flags from the American war for independence. Very high quality, worth the $50.

Thanks for reminding me to take that and my regular flag in at night, Dakota. Even though they're safe in my neighborhood, they're not lit and should not be flown in the dark.

It's not softball, but some posters might find this interesting and amusing:

My father captained a small ship in the U.S. Navy at the end of World War II. He told me that with the war over, the navy personnel in the Philippines were pretty much just having a good time. He and his crew spent most of their day loading jeeps, guns, ammunition, and other supplies onto his LCT and then taking the stuff out to sea to dump it. Most of the lifting was done by Japanese POWs who were grateful not to have been beheaded by their captors (and knew they would soon be going home). At night, with no more enemy to fight, the guys partied pretty enthusiastically. Once he saw a couple of dozen passed-out partiers carried from the pier onto the deck of their heavy cruiser with a crane and a huge net.

However, at dawn and dusk, when the flag was raised and lowered, nobody had to called to attention. The sailors had a deep reverence for the flag, and everyone, regardless of how much he was carousing at night, stood absolutely silent and still during the ceremony. (I guess that was if they could stand!)