TO SET ROOTS, WATER

TO SET ROOTS, WATER

By Andy Weddington

Wednesday, 29 May 2024

We never know the worth of water till the well is dry.  - Thomas Fuller

A week ago a local small landscaping outfit showed up, as scheduled, to lay Bermuda sod. 

The owner, Rob, led the crew. 

Work complete, he advised watering twice a day of two weeks then once a day for a week or so. 

Necessary for the sod to take root. 

"Don't let the sod turn brown," he said.

"Water!"

So early mornings and after the dinner hour I water. 

Hose with nozzle takes about 30 minutes. 

It's relaxing. 

Time to think. 

Memorial Day. 

I watered that morning. 

Then attended our local American Legion Post annual ceremony - for inclement weather moved from street corner to nearby firehouse bay.

Good crowd. All ages and colors. 

A Boy Scouts troop handed out programs and assisted the Legion where needed.

A 14 years-old girl sang our National Anthem a cappella. 

Chilling!

Quite a few children. Parents teaching.

I made a few small hasty pencil sketches during the ceremony. 

After dinner I watered sod. Necessary to help root. Can't let it turn brown. 

And it hit me this morning while watering the parallel between watering sod and watering children.

Sod must be regularly watered for roots to set and the grass to thrive and spread. It takes weeks. 

Children must be regularly watered with patriotism to set allegiance to thrive and spread. It takes years. 

As a child I remember standing before the flag and reciting the Pledge of Allegiance every day before school - through 8th grade. 

I remember the National Anthem before every sporting event - through high school. And whenever tuning in to a televised game. 

I remember attending the funeral, full military honors, of a great uncle who lost a leg in World War I. 

I remember a black and white photograph hanging in Nanny and Pop-Pop's home of a family member buried in Flanders Field.

I remember a great uncle who landed on Omaha Beach. He fought the duration. And came home without a scratch. I do not know if he was a religious man. Probably. He never talked about it.  

I remember a grade school classmate's father killed in Vietnam. 

I remember dad, Air Force veteran, who talked only of good experiences while in uniform. He respected the flag. He taught respect for the flag. Memorial Day and Veteran's Day quietly meant something to him.

I was being watered but didn't understand in that context.

Roots set. 

Then decades as a U.S. Marine. 

The children and adolescents Monday morning were being watered. 

Responsible parenting. 

Patriots are not born. 

It takes years to set roots. 

Reinforced by repetition - Pledge of Allegiance; National Anthem; U.S. history; Declaration of Independence; Constitution; ceremonies honoring the dead, living, and serving; visits to veteran gravesites; et al. - watering. 

Must not let youth turn brown. 

Water - red, white, and blue.