Saturday, September 12, 2009

Homecoming BHS

Homecoming Bountiful High.
This event is filled with Nostalgia for me.
I remember as a 10 year old going to my first BHS game.  We only lived two blocks from BHS and could always hear the games being played.  My parents, in an effort to make sure we didn't turn out to be hoodlums,  said we could only go to the Homecoming game. 
I felt very independent and grown up to be able to do this. 

(Prior to the game, Marcie and I probably went to Franescos....now it's Robintinos-- which was located in the building where the Mandarin is --- and order pizza and garlic bread, and pay the entire bill from our penny jar!    It took a lot of counting out.  I'm sure the pizza  people just loved us.  I remember dumping out the change from a mason jar that we took with us in a large purse.......)
I digress...

Last Friday night was incredibly beautiful.
The sun was out....there wasn't a breeze.
The grass was greener and the sky bluer than I remembered it.  The stadium was littered with blankets and decorated in red and white balloons.
When the BHS band took the field for the National Anthem...I was in awe.  They actually had marching band uniforms on!!!!  This hasn't happened at this school for a number of years.
IT looks as if Band is back at Bountiful.
The traditional helicopter flew in, (it used to be Hoskins Helicopters), last night it was the National Guard Helicopter with 3 different servicemen, delivering the game ball.
I got choked up...What day is this?
The first note of the national anthem rang out and I was immediately overcome with a feeling of love I have for this great country of ours.  I'm so blessed to be an American.  Tears coursed down my cheeks, and I couldn't eek out one note.
I knew this was 9/11 all day, but hadn't really internalized it.
But..
...this night, at this moment, the big picture became a small little stroke of paint, for me.
The troops are fighting for  my little world....not the big one.

They  are fighting so  I can have an "Americana" slice of life.
So my son can play football, and I can hear his name announced over the loud speaker.
So my daughter can have warpaint make-uped on her face and run around with the kids being hoodlums. 
So Homecoming royalty can sit in convertibles and ride around the track and wave. 
So my T can go off to College, and return with his buddies to cheer with the hometown crowd. 
So I can sit among friends at a Friday night football game and cry, because, for one minute, all is right in my world.
We need to remember 9/11 and make sure it doesn't happen again.
God Bless our Troops.

4 comments:

D2Quilter said...

being a crier must run in the family. I probably would have been right there crying with you! I knew it was 9/11 all day and was sad in the afternoon when I realized we hadn't put our flag out. God Bless the USA. I always cry at that song, too.

Erin Blake said...

well said Melinda.

Lesley said...

Well done. Thanks for sharing.

Stecky said...

Thank you, you made the memory of the day complete. I taught the children of Meadowbrook the story behind the The Star Spangled Banner this week. We stood and sang it. They were fantastic and respectful. I love this country and those 'heroes' who prove their love with their lives.