Jun 14, 2013 7 min read

…If you are reading this on the day the Messenger hits the news stands on June 14, then I hope you are, like me, celebrating a very special day. A day that all Americans should celebrate and take the time to recognize and appreciate the signifiance of the Red, White and Blue.

I’m sure some of you are reading and thinking, “Wait, we celebrated Memorial Day almost two weeks ago and July 4th isn’t till next month. What the heck is he talking about?” I am talking about Flag Day.

It’s funny to me how Flag Day, in my opinion, seems to be the “forgotten” patriotic holiday. It is not a national holiday where government offices are closed, nor is it a day where we hold big cookouts or light fireworks. It is not as widely celebrated as Memorial Day, the Fourth of July or Veteran’s Day…but ask any past or present soldier and they will tell you just how important June 14 is when it comes to the freedoms that we enjoy each and every day here in America.

So it is nice to see that this special day is once again being celebrated in various parts of the county, including an early morning ceremony being held on the courthouse steps by the Fort Jackson Sons of the American Revolution and other services being held by the James Farrell Post 330 of the American Legion and the American Legion Post 400 in Carmichaels.

(By the way, if you are reading this early enough on June 14, the Waynesburg American Legion’s Flag Day ceremony begins at 6 p.m., followed by refreshments and food from 7 to 8 p.m. and the Triple Dare Band performing from 8 to 11 p.m. The public is invited to attend.)

I have attended quite a few Flag Day ceremonies in the past, and I look forward to them…they always remind me why we should all be grateful for living in the greatest country, and why we should never take our freedoms for granted.

The Messenger commends the veterans’ organizations that hold their own respective Flag Day ceremonies each year, and applauds the folks who attend them as well as those who take the time to inform the local media outlets beforehand about their events so that we can let the readers know about them.

However, it wouldn’t be me if I didn’t complain about something in my column, so here goes: I get frustrated whenever we are not notified about any patriotic events that are being offered to the public, and it happens quite often. On many occasions after such an event is held, I oftentimes receive phone calls from people who are upset that none of the local media either bothered to promote the events beforehand or show up to cover the events.

I can’t speak for other media outlets, but I can honestly say that the reason why we have not published any information about a couple of the Flag Day events in our paper is because, quite frankly, we didn’t receive any info from the folks in charge of the events. Only one person representing a Flag Day event notified us before June 14 in the hopes of letting our readers know about it, and that person was the only one who asked us to attend an event and provide coverage in our newspaper.

It’s frustrating because on one hand I have taken up much space in this column over the years chastising the many folks who are able to attend special patriotic events that are held to pay respects to the men and women who have proudly served this great country, but they choose to ignore them…But yet, how are the residents supposed to know about the events if very little effort is made to promote them? If the info about these events is not published in the papers or publicized on the radio or presented to the veterans’ affairs office so they can distribute the info, then how is anyone going to find out about the events?

This frustration serves as yet another reminder of our ongoing and never-ending plea: If you know of an event that is happening somewhere in Greene and you want to get the word out about it, then LET THE MESSENGER KNOW. Send us your info by email, give us a call or drop by our office. All of our contact information can be found in the helpful box on this page. An important tip: If you are sending us some info about your event, please give us at least a couple weeks’ notice before the event occurs, as we are a weekly paper…

…So, I noticed that Father’s Day is this coming weekend. I have to be honest, the third Sunday in June has always been a special day for me; however, this Father’s Day will certainly be the most emotional and meaningful one I will ever experience.

In addition to the fact that I am excited about celebrating my first Father’s Day as a Dad, I will also cherish this coming Sunday because I am going to be fondly reminiscing the many wonderful memories of my own father.

It is still difficult for me to fathom that this Sunday is going to be the first Father’s Day since my Dad passed away. It seems so hard to believe that it was a year ago that he was fighting for his life after suffering through the most difficult medical issue of his entire life.

I will always remember last year’s Father’s Day, because it was a time when I watched a man who I looked up to my whole life battle through one horrible medical ordeal after another, and when we were told time after time that there was no hope and he wasn’t going to make it to Father’s Day, he defied all of the odds. And it was at that time that he proved to me that he was the strongest, bravest and most inspirational man I have ever met.

Even to this day I cannot thank the Lord enough for giving my family one more Father’s Day last year to share with him, and for allowing us the chance to hear my Dad’s voice, to see his smile, to be able to tell him how much we love him. And, I cannot thank God enough for giving my father more time to spend with his family before calling him home, and for allowing him to celebrate one more Christmas and wedding anniversary, to be a part of my son’s baptism and to hold my son in his arms.

It has been, and continues to be, an honor to call him my father. And it is because of him that I will strive to be the best Dad I can possibly be to my son, not just on Father’s Day, but every day.

One of the last things I ever said to my Dad was that I hoped I could be half the father to my son that Dad was to me. With tears in his eyes, he held my hand and smiled at me. I will never forget that smile.

So this Father’s Day will be special to me, because I will hold my son and tell him how happy I am to be his Dad. And, I will also be telling my Dad how proud I am to be his son.

To all of the fathers and sons out there, it is my sincerest hope that you have a wonderful Father’s Day as well…