I’M JUST CURIOUS: What has happened to us?

by Debbie Walker

This is another one of those columns I must ask you to not blame The Town Line editor. This is just my thoughts on a subject and my curiosity how you would want to react. And I said ‘would want to react’ because there are situations we might want to say or do __whatever________ but we maybe we are shy or, whatever.

You are on a flight home and you notice a uniformed soldier on board. You become aware he is escorting a fellow soldier who is in a casket in the cargo hold of the plane. You have just been informed the soldier will be the first to debark the plane, he will go below and march with the Honor Guard as they bring a fellow soldier off to present to his family. You are asked to “remain in your seat and quiet, please.”

Our traveling widow of a 20-year Navy doctor is on this flight. She had a thought and went to each person (before the plane began descending). She wondered ‘wouldn’t it be nice if we sang the national anthem as the procession begins?’ Most of the traveler’s thought this was a wonderful idea and there were a few who said they did not care to. Okay, so they just do not participate.

Just before landing the flight attendant comes to you and says it is against company policy to do the singing and wants you to tell the others. She said there were a few people who were not comfortable with the idea. The Navy widow decided to not co-operate. But the attendant got on the PA system again with the instructions to please stay seated and observe the request for quiet.

The Navy widow saw the singing as respectful. She felt so bad that she was not brave enough to go through with it because she was afraid of repercussions with the airlines. She was hurt thinking what her husband would say about that. She felt she let him down.

Imagine, the plane lands on American soil (last I knew Atlanta was part of the United States), they wanted to honor the American soldiers on American soil, with an American-based airline. They were instructed to not sing the National Anthem.

I want to write this for another reason besides the injustice heaped on this woman and the others. Please understand I am, of course, curious; how did we ever get to this point? An American soldier, escorting a deceased American soldier, lands on American soil and because of a couple of people were unhappy about it Americans could not sing our national anthem. What has happened to us? When? There have always been people who did not want to be ‘part of …….’ However, these days that is all it takes. What about our rights? I do not buy the line that “we don’t want to offend”. A friend of mine has a saying, heifer dust!

I understand our lady received a letter of an apology from the airline and they assured her that the attendant was wrong, they had no such policy. Oh well folks, the damage was already done.

Okay enough of that. You know what I am curious about this time. But I also want to share a wonderful event! I became a great-grandmother today to a beautiful little girl. Addison Grace came on May 6, 2020, and, of course, I am in love! We all are here! I cannot wait to see her and rock her; it’s one of my favorite things about having a baby to spoil! Rocking and reading to them.

Have a great week! Thanks again, for reading.