Along the Road to Home

The first semester of this "bonus" year for me as a teacher has now come to fruition.  The last few days of the final week were spent in "virtual school" because of rising Covid 19 numbers in our part of the world.  It wasn't exactly the way we wanted it to end, but sometimes things are out of our control.   2020 has seen to that more times than not as of late. In this strange year it seems like change was inevitable in so many aspects of my life.  From being sure in mid-March that it was time to retire for good, to returning to the classroom yet once again in August as a fourth grade teacher here in Newkirk, I could not have predicted all that I would go through.  Thus far I have survived and for that I am thankful. Normally speaking, it is my tradition to pen a letter to my students as the year begins and as it comes to an end in May.  This year I feel compelled to write to them now in mid-year and that is what this blog post is about.  I will n...

We made a stop on Main Street here in Newkirk yesterday at the American flag disposal bin to give a final send off to the flag we had been flying at our home for the better part of the past two years.  It was noticeably faded with small tears in the corner from being whipped about in the Oklahoma wind.  My brother-in-law, the late Wes St. Clair, would have been the first to have reminded me that it was time to do that. As a matter of fact, past time. Wes was an Air Force veteran with more than 20 years of service to his country.  He was a true patriot who believed in flying Old Glory proudly from the front yard of their home in Altus, Oklahoma.  Wes was always on the lookout for people who flew the flag from their homes and businesses as well.  The moment he spied one that was in less than acceptable condition, Wes would pull over and visit with someone about the need to retire flags that were in poor shape.  I've even known of him to volunteer to bring ove...