Home of the brave
Your Ol' Editor is the kind of guy who unashamedly gets overly emotional at hearing the Pledge of Allegiance, the Star Spangled Banner, America the Beautiful, and a few other masterpieces. Each word is meaningful, especially the third verse of the National Anthem.
Actually, it isn't the third verse. It's the last verse. Originally there were four and during World War II the third verse was eliminated because of it's anti-British sentiment. "And where is that band who so vauntingly swore, That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion, A home and a country should leave us no more? Their blood has wiped out their foul footsep's pollution, No refuge could save the hireling and slave, From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave
The fourth verse became the third (and final) at that time. It's the best of them all. Marion Kiwanians sing it every Monday noon: "Oh! Thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand, Between their loved homes and the war's desolation! Blest with victory and peace, may the heaven-rescued land, Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation. Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just, And this be our motto, In God is our trust
Marion Kiwanians also pledge their allegiance to Old Glory properly, without putting a pause between "One Nation" and "Under God." It makes a great deal of difference to recite it properly, "One Nation Under God." There's no comma.
It's wonderful to live in this land of the free mainly because it's the home of the brave. Last week while attending ceremonies to dedicate the new Bob Dole center on the KU campus at Lawrence we saw former political rivals put differences aside and speak on mutual cooperation. George McGovern, Jimmy Carter, John McCain, and others shared historic and meaningful stories. That night when Larry King interviewed Dole and Bill Clinton, it was graphically pointed out how they had supported each other in the past for the good of the nation. They put politics aside. Such men truly are statesmen.
Present were more than a dozen men who earned the Medal of Honor and several Indians whose "code talker" ability also helped win that war.
You should make it a point to visit the Dole center on the KU campus, it's inspiring and free. Kansas received a great deal of national publicity last week, the kind money can't buy. Our Sunflower State looks great under scrutiny.
The Ol' Editor was fortunate to be invited as a special guest, his photograph now hangs in the hall alongside hundreds of other WWII vets from Kansas, he was thrilled at all the patriotic events, and got a dandy sunburn.
While being thankful, let's mention health facilities available to those who live here in the diversified county of Marion. One of your OE's bum legs went worse, bringing excruciating pain and no ability to walk. Help was available quickly without traveling a great distance. In two days he was up and going again.
We're also thankful for the attractive homes and gardens in our communities across the county. Norman Funk's bountiful produce garden on Miller Street looks like a page out of a seed catalog. Stan and Ruth Reed's carefully tended and lovingly planned yard in the 300 block of Elm is evidence of what is possible with hard work. The corn and soybean fields a mile south of Marion on Sunflower Road show the result of rainfall at the proper time. The row crop, with one more rain, can compare to the home run yields of wheat a month or so ago.
Marion County, Kansas, and the USA are great places to be. They not only are the land of the free, but the home of the brave. Such success wouldn't be possible for the faint of heart.
— BILL MEYER
