As we head into the Memorial Day weekend with all of the festivities and events that go along with it, I got to thinking about the patriotic part of this holiday.This is an old poem that I have heard before but I still get chills when I read it.Ragged Old Flag
I walked through a county courthouse square,
On a park bench an old man was sitting there.
I said, Your old courthouse is kinda run down.
He said, Naw, it'll do for our little town.
I said, Your flagpole has leaned a little bit,
And that's a Ragged Old Flag you got hanging on it.
He said, Have a seat, and I sat down.
Is this the first time you've been to our little town?
I said, I think it is. He said, I don't like to brag,
But we're kinda proud of that Ragged Old Flag.
You see, we got a little hole in that flag there
When Washington took it across the Delaware.
And it got a bad rip in New Orleans
With Packingham and Jackson tuggin' at its seams.
And it almost fell at the Alamo
Beside the Texas flag, but she waved on though.
She got cut with a sword at Chancellorsville
And she got cut again at Shiloh Hill.
There was Robert E. Lee, Beauregard, and Bragg,
And the south wind blew hard on that Ragged Old Flag.
On Flanders Field in World War I
She got a big hole from a Bertha gun.
She turned blood red in World War II
She hung limp and low a time or two.
She was in Korea and Vietnam.
She went where she was sent by her Uncle Sam.
She waved from our ships upon the briny foam,
And now they've about quit waving her back here at home.
In her own good land she's been abused --
She's been burned, dishonored, denied and refused.
And the government for which she stands
Is scandalized throughout the land.
And she's getting threadbare and wearing thin,
But she's in good shape for the shape she's in.
'Cause she's been through the fire before
And I believe she can take a whole lot more.
So we raise her up every morning,
Take her down every night.
We don't let her touch the ground
And we fold her up right.
On second thought I DO like to brag,
'Cause I'm mighty proud of that Ragged Old Flag.
Written by Johnny Cash
Last Saturday, Dad & I went to a car show at a local park. This is just one of the many cars that was there.
On Friday, I took a day off work and we went to the Bel Sano Holiness camp. It was a very enjoyable day. I managed to get a picture of this couple sitting on a bench on the campgrounds.
Yesterday was the day for the local Riverfest - a time of several events here in town. One of the events was the raft regatta. I think someone said that there were 40 rafts that entered the event. They were to float 4.3 miles on the Juniata river. Some of them were very elaborate, others were very simple. I said that some of them should get an award just for making it that far - if they made it! 
Here was our home away from home for a little while last week.
This is the front porch where we enjoy spending time - even when it's raining!
This is one of the farm fields that had already been mowed.
This is a field of wheat that is ready to be harvested.
This is the first camp that you come to on the way to the cottage where we stay. There is an Amish couple that stays in this occasionally.
This is part of what's left of the tree that fell on the wires that Dad had the picture of on his blog. Bro. & Sis. Stoner came and we tried to clean it up as much as we could after it had been cut down this morning.
While we were working on the tree, we got caught in a couple rainstorms. This double rainbow is what we saw after the first one.
I got a very pleasant surprise this morning when Dad asked me if I wanted one of my birthday gifts early. It caught me off guard and I didn't really know what to say, so he handed me a gift wrapped box.
From time to time, some people like to share photos from the past on their blog. That being the case, I thought I would share one from the very distant past here - as in about 40 years distant! In case you don't know who this is - go to The Happy Pastor blog and look at the profile picture for an up to date photo of this same person.
Back sometime ago I had put a post on here about us hearing from a girl that had been a neighbor of ours in Berwick. 
After our new members reception service last night (for more pictures from that, click here to see the ones on my parents' blog), we were invited to the Sicklers' home for a time of fellowship and refreshments.
We had some rain here for a short time this afternoon / evening. Actually it rained pretty hard for a little bit. When it had just about quit, Dad called for me to come look outside and this is what we saw. I've seen many rainbows, but I still think they're beautiful every time I see one.
I realized tonight that it has been awhile since I have posted any pictures of Tim Calhoun on this blog.
We went to some yard sales today and I bought several things. Here is my biggest purchase of the day.
My new toy in action! I really like it!
I would like to invite everyone to our Revival Services this week. Bro. & Sis. Smith will be singing and Bro. Smith will be preaching.
Of course we had to stop to eat. This is the Hometown Buffet that we stopped at on the way out.
We stopped at Cracker Barrel on the way home. The man with the sunglasses in the middle of the picture was some of our entertainment for the week.
Riding on the bus is also a good time to get some much needed rest!
As usual, Bro. & Sis. Cooley kept us entertained with a variety of jokes and stories during our traveling time. This included Bro. Cooley's memories and imitations of some of the PA Dutch people that he has known over the years.
This was my traveling buddy for part of the time going out and coming back. I think I drew more pictures during that time than I have for a long time!
Of course, it was good to get to see some of our fellow bloggers. We got to talk to a few of them, but not all of them like I would have liked to.
