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Show Emery County Progress Castle Dale, Utah Tuesday July 1,2003 7A C OMMENTARY : The Yankee Doodle Dandy W By CINDY CHAMPNELLA was her turn for the spotlight. They brought her forward in a quartet to sing, Its A Grand Old Flag, decked out in a wTeath of red, white and blue stars. She wore an American flag vest and matching shill She marched and saluted sharply On Saturday, Jaclyns school had an end of the year program. The teacher announced brightly at its' beginning, Since our holiday program celebrated diversity we thought that we would have a program to celebrate the ONE thing that we all have in common: we are ALL Americans! I swallowed hard. Jadyn, recently adopted, is a citizen of the Peoples Republic of China; she has not yet been granted citizenship here. Then the children trooped out. To my amazement, I watched homeland, too. I remember her telling me how she wanted to stay in China. I remember her confused misgivings when it was time to leave China on our return trip. I remember her silence, made more pronounced by its stark contrast to her usual animated chatter, as she found herself immersed in a strange land where no one spoke her language. How will I ever forget her saving, I no like eveiybody look like Mama, nobody look like Jaelyn. In China, I understand eveiybody But all of these protests were rationalized away7: we adults knew w hat was best for her. It was best for her to have a family even in a foreign land. It was best for her to be a citizen of the United States; to growup to know freedoms that can barely be imagined in her home And in her hand she proudly waved an American flag. I felt a pangof conscience. Somehow; it seemed a little too much like brainwashing. She had been in this country barely a year. Could she even remember the flagof her homeland? And there was no denying this: she had been taken against her will I could still see her pkuited feet, still hear her screams as she was loaded forcibly into our car. She had told me repeatedly about her crushing disappointment that her parents wrere foreigners; she knew this meant she had to leave her ! Jaelyn, hand soberly over her heart, recite the pledge of allegiance with till tiie other children. I watched her sing, My country Tis of Thee. I watched her recite all fifty states. My favorite is the one she calls NewHampster. And then it Harriets World By HARRIET BISHOP the Fourth of July. I love celebrating it. I remember celebrating a July 4 as a very little girl. At the end of World War II because of the war, fireworks were still banned in Southern California. All we had for a fireworks display was a railroad flare my Dad had acquired from somewhere. Dad had to get permission to burn that flare. We had our family celebration during the day. When it got dark we stood in our back yard and Dad stuck the flare in the I love water situation. When things get better in the years to come we will more than likely be back at our old stomping grounds at the day always ended with a big fireworks display. After my parents passed on and we children scattered to various states, my family continued the tradition by celebrating it at our mountain home, Branwood Pines in Joes Valley. Complete with barbeque and followed by a song fest around our fire pit. Unhappily we wont be celebrating this year in the mountains because of the drought and cabin. Well, that is my world. Until next time remember: Celebrating the Fourth of July isnt about the place, or who you celebrate it with. Its about what you carry in v our heart. The pride and patriotism that we hold dear for these United States. Have a good one. end of our homemade pipe clothesline and we w atched that railroad flare burn out. I remember the red glare that it made. We beat on some pans and honked our car horns and that was our fireworks display. It got better every year from then on. As we grew up and I had brothers and sisters and we all got married and had families, our celebrations turned into a real shindig. To us the Fourth of July was the best. We all gathered at our family home and had ab.arbeque. Complete with hamburgers, hotdogs, salads, soda pop, condiments, baked beans and chocolate cake for dessert. Followed by our family baseball game. Which I might add, the neighborhood was envious of. The pi esident of the United States had nothing on us. Our baseball games wrere every bit as great as the Kennedy football games. Every family member played. Including grandmas and aby little grandchild that could land. I believed that U.S. citizenship was one of the great gifts I could bestow on her. Why then did I feel such a pang of guilt watching her decked out as a Yankee Doodle Dandy? And then I remembered another reality. The mob I saw; on three different trips to China, in front of the U.S. embassy It was a line that did not move, that pressed against the embassy gates I so easily walked through. It was a crowd filled with looks of resignation and infinite patience. They waited for day s on end for the rarely meted-oapprov als for the privilege of a visit to the United States. And 1 remembered all those who said, with truth in their eyes, luckybaby when they found out she was going to America. Some of that sentiment may hav e been because she now had a family: ut Some might have involved visions of untold riches in the land of Mickey Mouse. But a fewmigjit hav e dimed to envy die freedom that they knew was aw aitingher here. So, the child who came home on July 4th vv eekend a year ago, has now become a Yankee Doodle Dandy She can no longer speak her native language; she speaks only despairingly of her homeland. She turns her head when Chinese is spoken to her She tells her Chinese sister about all the tilings they did not have in China that she nowioves. 1 keep hoping that this will change as I reinforce all there is to lov e in China, and as I share with her my appreciation for its beauty; culture and rich liistoiy. But knowing full vv ell how stubborn she can be, do not hold out hope that will chiuige her mind any tune soon. .Mid I still believ e that 1 did the right thing in bringing her here. But I also knowl did it at a strep price: to change I Now onder then that, once again, mil the only mom with tears in her eyes. Letters to the editor should focus on public issues rather than pnvate personalities or entities. All submissions must be verified prior to publication. The Emery County Progress reserves the right to edit letters not only to satisfy space constraints, but 1 1 potential liability concerns. Mass mflt Bmce itliKE immediately following the fireworks Saturday, July 5 th in Scofield. Featuring live music by The Jerry Bone Band. Sponsored by "Scofieldss Own (Not affiliated with Pleasant Valley Foundation) M vtfalk. The banana tree was first base and a piece of cardboard might be second or third base and so on. We would choose up team s and play a long time until things started to get too your pick of six kittens. Most are male, only one weeks old. Adoption fee is $30 female. They are for males and $50 for females and includes spay or neuter and rabies vaccination. Call Emery Animal Health, Take seri-o'ii- s. 6-1- Then someone would lighten things up by picking up a base and hiding it or grabbing onto someones shirttail so they couldnt run. ;;We would laugh and laugh and then we knew it was time to stop the game. It was time to have homemade ice cream. 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