I Pledge Allegiance...

Our Family Dinner topic for tonight was two USA flags. One was the Trumbull Flag which Papa flew today, and the other was the Fort McHenry Flag, the "spangled" flag that flew over Fort McHenry when Francis Scott Key wrote the words of our national anthem. The $2 bill that each kid gets at Family Dinners happens to have a John Trumbull painting of the signing of the Declaration of Independence on its reverse. And for the teaching moment of the dinner, Papa simply played Mike Rowe's video interview of a ranger at Fort McHenry: Bringing the Anthem to Life. At the end, Papa made a big deal out of learning the Pledge of Allegiance and the National Anthem. When Jonny decided to give the Pledge a try, he got himself up and stood facing the flag with his hand over his heart. So proud. And he came very close to a perfect recitation.

The Trumbull Flag. (The 15-star
Fort McHenry Flag was on the other side.)