NorthStar Flags

After a successful Friday night-out with my buddies, I groped my way back to the condo intending to hit the sack by 12midnight. But after almost 30minutes under the sheets sleep just could not come, so using the remote control surfed the cable channel on my plasma TV. Just then a movie opened-up, a rerun of the PT-109 starring Cliff Robertson and a story of the exploits of John F. Kennedy during World War II, a film that I missed.

In one of the scenes, the PT-109 was cruising, regal in posture complete with all the outfitted armaments and an American flag billowing at the mast. It looks just one of the over 100 PT boats ordered by the Navy, to complement its naval armada. The boat is sleek being only 80feet in length weighs 40tons but has a cruising speed of 41knots. The boat has a crew of three officers and 14 sailors.

PT-109 was tasked to patrol the sea-lanes of the Solomon group of islands, an area that was controlled by the Japanese Imperial Navy. Since the boats can maneuver at top speed, it should be able to assist the US Navy in gathering information and thwart whatever naval maneuvers the enemy may device.

In one of its sojourn into enemy territory, a dark night it was rammed by a Japanese destroyer that split the boat in two and exploded in flames. Two crewmen immediately died and the rest survived including its skipper John F. Kennedy. A swimmer in college at Harvard, Kennedy secured the survivors and personally towed McMahon to a nearby island and swam back to look for help. On the water most of the time, he evaded enemy patrols and deadly shark attacks.

After a successful Friday night-out with my buddies, I groped my way back to the condo intending to hit the sack by 12midnight. But after almost 30minutes under the sheets sleep just could not come, so using the remote control surfed the cable channel on my plasma TV. Just then a movie opened-up, a rerun of the PT-109 starring Cliff Robertson and a story of the exploits of John F. Kennedy during World War II, a film that I missed.

In one of the scenes, the PT-109 was cruising, regal in posture complete with all the outfitted armaments and an American flag billowing at the mast. It looks just one of the over 100 PT boats ordered by the Navy, to complement its naval armada. The boat is sleek being only 80feet in length weighs 40tons but has a cruising speed of 41knots. The boat has a crew of three officers and 14 sailors.

PT-109 was tasked to patrol the sea-lanes of the Solomon group of islands, an area that was controlled by the Japanese Imperial Navy. Since the boats can maneuver at top speed, it should be able to assist the US Navy in gathering information and thwart whatever naval maneuvers the enemy may device.

In one of its sojourn into enemy territory, a dark night it was rammed by a Japanese destroyer that split the boat in two and exploded in flames. Two crewmen immediately died and the rest survived including its skipper John F. Kennedy. A swimmer in college at Harvard, Kennedy secured the survivors and personally towed McMahon to a nearby island and swam back to look for help. On the water most of the time, he evaded enemy patrols and deadly shark attacks.

I used to envy friends that have their houses marked with “gone fishing” during the summer. I am not wealthy in a sense because my family does not own a vacation house in Florida or somewhere else. So together with my wife and son, we just frequent beaches during the summer months.

One time my close buddy and his family were vacationing to Switzerland, making their Florida vacation house free for the summer. He offered if I would be interested to take my summer in Florida, obviously before he can even complete his invitation, I already accepted. This time, my house will also have a “gone fishing” sign.

My cheery disposition may have shown on my face because my wife noticed immediately and after a few exchange, we were already deep in preparation for the trip. Right away, I asked government agencies concerned for fishing permits and shopped not only for food but also rods, fishing line and baits.

Off we go. The vacation house fronts one of the best freshwater fishing ground in Florida, it has a wooden pier and on it docked a medium sized boat. The next day the three of us were up and about at 5 in the morning, bringing to the boat provisions for the expedition. And when we are about to leave my son noticed that the mast does not have a custom boat flag. He alighted and ran to the garage and look for anything that could serve as makeshift flag. Luckily, he found from among the piles a medium sized American flag, one probably used during the 4th of July celebration.

So, with the flag hoisted we began our summer escapade.

I used to envy friends that have their houses marked with “gone fishing” during the summer. I am not wealthy in a sense because my family does not own a vacation house in Florida or somewhere else. So together with my wife and son, we just frequent beaches during the summer months.

One time my close buddy and his family were vacationing to Switzerland, making their Florida vacation house free for the summer. He offered if I would be interested to take my summer in Florida, obviously before he can even complete his invitation, I already accepted. This time, my house will also have a “gone fishing” sign.

My cheery disposition may have shown on my face because my wife noticed immediately and after a few exchange, we were already deep in preparation for the trip. Right away, I asked government agencies concerned for fishing permits and shopped not only for food but also rods, fishing line and baits.

Off we go. The vacation house fronts one of the best freshwater fishing ground in Florida, it has a wooden pier and on it docked a medium sized boat. The next day the three of us were up and about at 5 in the morning, bringing to the boat provisions for the expedition. And when we are about to leave my son noticed that the mast does not have a custom boat flag. He alighted and ran to the garage and look for anything that could serve as makeshift flag. Luckily, he found from among the piles a medium sized American flag, one probably used during the 4th of July celebration.

So, with the flag hoisted we began our summer escapade.

As a child growing up in California, I have always been fascinated with the Statue of Liberty. In fact I had made countless sketches of My Lady based on photographs from textbooks and tourist flyers. I also know that the statue is a gift of the people of France to the citizens of the United States and that the construction of the Statue was a marvel at the time, since all the parts were pre-fabricated, brought to the site in crates and dutifully assembled.

I was twelve when my Mom asked me to join her in the trip to New York. Imagine my luck, since I was promised a visit to the famous Lady at the New York harbor. This will be the time to really grasp at the significance of the Statue as mentioned in the books.

On the very special day, we took the subway to Battery Park in Manhattan and boarded the ferry through reserve tickets we purchased a day earlier from the Internet. And true to my assessment, the Lady looks so serene, its beauty unparalleled, not a thing in the world could duplicate or even equal it in stature.

But what really amazes me was the method used to construct the Statue as could be gleamed inside, since our pass includes a visit to the inner sanctum of the Lady of the Harbor. I am inquisitive by nature, but the trip answered all the questions that had stayed idle in my mind.

Then when its time to go, we passed by the souvenir shop and brought dozens of My Lady custom miniature flags as gift to my friends.

As a child growing up in California, I have always been fascinated with the Statue of Liberty. In fact I had made countless sketches of My Lady based on photographs from textbooks and tourist flyers. I also know that the statue is a gift of the people of France to the citizens of the United States and that the construction of the Statue was a marvel at the time, since all the parts were pre-fabricated, brought to the site in crates and dutifully assembled.

I was twelve when my Mom asked me to join her in the trip to New York. Imagine my luck, since I was promised a visit to the famous Lady at the New York harbor. This will be the time to really grasp at the significance of the Statue as mentioned in the books.

On the very special day, we took the subway to Battery Park in Manhattan and boarded the ferry through reserve tickets we purchased a day earlier from the Internet. And true to my assessment, the Lady looks so serene, its beauty unparalleled, not a thing in the world could duplicate or even equal it in stature.

But what really amazes me was the method used to construct the Statue as could be gleamed inside, since our pass includes a visit to the inner sanctum of the Lady of the Harbor. I am inquisitive by nature, but the trip answered all the questions that had stayed idle in my mind.

Then when its time to go, we passed by the souvenir shop and brought dozens of My Lady custom miniature flags as gift to my friends.

Sadly I’m not a party person, I will try to shun parties if I can help it, I want to be alone. But there are times when I have to, particularly those that pertain to company mandated gathering which makes me uneasy and unfriendly.

One time my boss organized a luau party and everybody from the office are requested to attend for there will be some important announcement at the close of the party. I froze in my seat, what is a luau party anyway? Naturally since I am not oriented towards social norms in life, the word alone seems foreign. I have to do research from my laptop to be familiar with it, what to wear, eat and probably drink in the party, not become just a wasp in the wall.

When I arrived at the party venue, I immediately noticed a large luau flag patterned after a Hawaiian multi-colored shirt with leis of flowers and obviously together with dark sunglasses. The party was impressive set against the swimming pool as backdrop and hundreds of custom mini flags of different colors. The waiters are likewise attired in grass skirts and the men are in flower printed shorts and no shirt at the top.

Guests are offered leis as they enter and are offered fruit juices or punch made from rum and fruit juice. By the drinks and finger foods alone, you seem to have the extra push and not even noticed that you are already enjoying the party. When dinner was announced everybody were already in the festive mood and when authentic dancers danced the hula, some of the guests were happy gyrating with the tempo of the music.

It was one party I will never forget.

Sadly I’m not a party person, I will try to shun parties if I can help it, I want to be alone. But there are times when I have to, particularly those that pertain to company mandated gathering which makes me uneasy and unfriendly.

One time my boss organized a luau party and everybody from the office are requested to attend for there will be some important announcement at the close of the party. I froze in my seat, what is a luau party anyway? Naturally since I am not oriented towards social norms in life, the word alone seems foreign. I have to do research from my laptop to be familiar with it, what to wear, eat and probably drink in the party, not become just a wasp in the wall.

When I arrived at the party venue, I immediately noticed a large luau flag patterned after a Hawaiian multi-colored shirt with leis of flowers and obviously together with dark sunglasses. The party was impressive set against the swimming pool as backdrop and hundreds of custom mini flags of different colors. The waiters are likewise attired in grass skirts and the men are in flower printed shorts and no shirt at the top.

Guests are offered leis as they enter and are offered fruit juices or punch made from rum and fruit juice. By the drinks and finger foods alone, you seem to have the extra push and not even noticed that you are already enjoying the party. When dinner was announced everybody were already in the festive mood and when authentic dancers danced the hula, some of the guests were happy gyrating with the tempo of the music.

It was one party I will never forget.

I missed my parents badly, they separated when I was still a tot and I grew up in the care of different foster families. But, the intervening years have been good if not the best. I had my share of 4th of July parties, flag day, thanksgiving and my foster parents sees to it that I could attend the best summer camps.

While I was stationed overseas, Asia in particular, that was the time when I craved for my parents company. Alone in a foreign land, I lived irritably, hardly a nice fellow to be with and really cynical about things that happen around me and in the office. But, I learned to accept the fact that I’m here to stay and slowly metamorphose into one lovable guy.

There are times though that I can’t help but remember my parents who are probably in their golden years now and if they are happy with their new families and children. In one rare 4th of July, I asked a local Home for the Aged Institution – was it Golden Acres, I can’t remember – if I could celebrate the day with them and in return I will provide the food and bring with me entertainers to spice up the occasion.

Well as I entered the social hall, I can’t help but notice that it was decorated with American fan flags and the overall ambience was really patriotic with hefty use of reds, whites and blues.

I was introduced to the golden crowd and we had dinner, after which entertainers followed suit. Into the night all danced with the music provided, and I can almost feel that my parents are with the crowd.

It was the best 4th of July party I had in years.

I missed my parents badly, they separated when I was still a tot and I grew up in the care of different foster families. But, the intervening years have been good if not the best. I had my share of 4th of July parties, flag day, thanksgiving and my foster parents sees to it that I could attend the best summer camps.

While I was stationed overseas, Asia in particular, that was the time when I craved for my parents company. Alone in a foreign land, I lived irritably, hardly a nice fellow to be with and really cynical about things that happen around me and in the office. But, I learned to accept the fact that I’m here to stay and slowly metamorphose into one lovable guy.

There are times though that I can’t help but remember my parents who are probably in their golden years now and if they are happy with their new families and children. In one rare 4th of July, I asked a local Home for the Aged Institution – was it Golden Acres, I can’t remember – if I could celebrate the day with them and in return I will provide the food and bring with me entertainers to spice up the occasion.

Well as I entered the social hall, I can’t help but notice that it was decorated with American fan flags and the overall ambience was really patriotic with hefty use of reds, whites and blues.

I was introduced to the golden crowd and we had dinner, after which entertainers followed suit. Into the night all danced with the music provided, and I can almost feel that my parents are with the crowd.

It was the best 4th of July party I had in years.