Okay, okay, I’ve heard just about everyone complain how tired they are looking at Greece. It's been so long I almost forgot my UserName. So here’s the first blog about the next forty days. (You’re crazy to think I’ll write a daily blog about the going-ons at the Saratoga Race Track. I’ll leave that to the insiders like Injun Joe.)
Leaving Greece and coming back to America. I got to ask. How can you walk into a crowd of twenty thousand people who suddenly stop dead in their tracks, drop conversations and turn attention to the nearest flag as “Oh say can you see” ripples through the oaks and maples surrounding America’s premier racetrack? Only the limp flutter of Old Glory itself high above the Travers’ canoe and the pages of the New York Post reserving the benches under the mutual bay stir in the stilted summer air. The pause is as noticeable as a cough in a concert hall. Yet some will continue to meander through the hush, oblivious. It’s not surprising when a kid acts the fool, but it is curious to witness a senior clutching his absorbed thoughts as the National Anthem asks if the Flag is sill there.
Do major league ballplayers notice the Star Spangled Banner before every game or is it such a part of the 160-plus-game season that routine numbs its representation? At ten minutes before noon the Francis Scott Keys composition signals that another day of thoroughbred racing is about to begin. Post time is 1 PM, so the Anthem, played an hour before the first race catches most people off guard. At a ball game the Anthem is played just before the beginning of the game and the crowd has their attention turned toward the field in anticipation. Those at the track generally are not in the grandstand an hour before the first race. Instead, they mill about the yard searching for a picnic table, thumbing through the program handicapping the first race or fishing deep inside a cooler looking for a Bud Light. They are getting ready for the day, but not ready for their attention to be drawn elsewhere.
Nor is there any announcement. “Ladies and gentleman, please rise for the playing of the National Anthem.” Indeed, some must be told. Even I can miss the first drawn notes if I’m standing away from the PA systems. Nevertheless, there are those who refuse to take notice and act respectful. There is a loss of appreciation to pay tribute and respect to the National Anthem. The question is not if the flag is still there, but we could ask if there are any free and brave left among us.
My noon shift begins with the National Anthem. I’ll stand and salute. I’ll do it everyday of the meet. Forty Days of racing. Forty days to reflect on my God, my Country and my Founding Fathers. There is something that stirs my heart when I heard the Anthem. In my head I’ll sing, for the tune is difficult to carry and I have difficulty with the simple stuff like Itsy Bitsy Spider. I could cry when I hear the National Anthem if I wasn’t watching commies walk past me.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
3 comments:
i often cry, just as i do when saying the pledge of allegiance ....
will go to part 2 of seminar series sponsored by the evil tea party (http://www.freemarketwarrior.com/economic-literacy-seminar.html)
they begin each meeting by saying the pledge - evil i say, just plain evil. or maybe racist?
btw: your word verification is hypie - variation of hippie?
It is so disrespectful. I cry singing most patriotic songs, though I, too, sing them mostly in my head. "God Bless America" is one of my faves.
Why do they play it so far in advance of the race, when not even everyone is there? I think that should be changed, then maybe they'd get some respect. So go forth and wield some power!
WV: sesse
From sesse to shining sesse!!
I often glance around me and check to see how many are mouthing the words. Often they appear to veterans or Sr Citizens that can remember the multitudes that have died keeping that flag flying and are truly grateful to be living in "the land of the free". Though freedom is less pronounced than it once was - we are still free=er than most.
Thanks for coming back to the Blog Site.
Post a Comment