The yellow ribbon tied around the tower of the County Administration Center has faded. Wind, rain and pollution, especially from last fall’s wildfires, have taken their toll on the salute to U.S. troops. County supervisors installed the 240-foot-long ribbon and bow during President Bush’s visit here on May 4, 2003. As the conflict in Iraq has dragged on, the decoration has turned more gray than yellow and screams to be either cleaned, replaced or removed.
It’s time for the bow to come down, agree supervisors Dianne Jacob and Greg Cox, who championed the tribute. While it would be great to display the mesh-fabric ribbon and bow until the last ship returns home, the decoration came with a life expectancy of about a year, Jacob notes, and some of our troops probably will be in Iraq for a long time to come. “We’re making plans to take it down on the 30th of June,” says Jacob, to coincide with the transfer of power to the Iraqis.
This reminds me of the days just after the WTC attack when the US looked like a giant pep rally with American flags everyplace that could possibly be plastered with a flag and little American antenna flags on car after car. A “patriot” at WarmongerRepublic once said this to me:
I have a flag on my car and yes it’s getting tattered. But I plan to keep it there till the day we get Osama. I don’t care if it’s the size of a tissue.
29 posted on 11/16/2001 1:27:01 PM PST by veronica
I wonder if it’s the size of a tissue yet?
All that “patriotic” fervor and “support the troops” enthusiasm somehow segued into 800+ dead Americans, thousands of dead Afghanis and Iraqis, billions of dollars squandered and tens of thousands of American soldiers who were told that all they had to do was cakewalk to Baghdad and they would then go home in time to be heroes in their home town Fourth of July Parades still roasting in Iraqi sandstorms in full body armor, getting attacked constantly. Afghanistan is ruled by warlords and producing bumper poppy crops, while Americans are still dying and killing there and Osama’s whereabouts are unknown, though he still manages to his convey his threats whenever he wants.
And the yellow ribbons fade and the flags, long turned to tattered rags, disappear.