RAGGED OLD FLAG

I walked through a county courthouse square,
On a park bench an old man was sitting there.
I said, "Your old courthouse is kinda run down."
He said, "Naw, it'll do for our little town."
I said, "Your flagpole has leaned a little bit,
And that's a Ragged Old Flag you got hanging on it.

He said, "Have a seat", and I sat down.
"Is this the first time you've been to our little town?"
I said, "I think it is." He said, "I don't like to brag,
But we're kinda proud of that Ragged Old Flag."

"You see, we got a little hole in that flag there
When Washington took it across the Delaware.
And it got powder-burned the night Francis Scott Key
Sat watching it writing _Oh Say Can You See_.
And it got a bad rip in New Orleans
With Packingham and Jackson tuggin' at its seams."

"And it almost fell at the Alamo
Beside the Texas flag, but she waved on through.
She got cut with a sword at Chancellorsville
And she got cut again at Shiloh Hill.
There was Robert E. Lee, Beauregard, and Bragg,
And the south wind blew hard on that Ragged Old Flag."

"On Flanders Field in World War I
She got a big hole from a Bertha gun.
She turned blood red in World War II
She hung limp and low by the time it was through.
She was in Korea and Vietnam.
She went where she was sent by her Uncle Sam."

"She waved from our ships upon the briny foam,
And now they've about quit waving her back here at home.
In her own good land she's been abused --
She's been burned, dishonored, denied and refused."

 "And the government for which she stands
Is scandalized throughout the land.
And she's getting threadbare and wearing thin,
But she's in good shape for the shape she's in.
'Cause she's been through the fire before
And I believe she can take a whole lot more."

"So we raise her up every morning,
Take her down every night.
We don't let her touch the ground
And we fold her up right.
On second thought I DO like to brag,
'Cause I'm mighty proud of that Ragged Old Flag."

 

Written by Johnny Cash

 

The PERFECT Job

 

 

My first job was working in an orange juice factory, but I got canned...couldn't concentrate.

 

Then I worked in the woods as a lumberjack, but I just couldn't hack it, so they gave me the ax.

 

After that I tried to be a tailor, but I wasn't suited for it –mainly because it was a sew-sew job.

 

Next I tried to be a chef. I figured it would add a little spice to my life but I just didn't have the tyme.

 

I attempted to be a deli worker, but any way I sliced it; I couldn't cut the mustard.

 

My best job was being a musician, but eventually I found I wasn't noteworthy enough.

 

I studied a long time to become a doctor, but I didn't have any patience.

 

Next was a job in a shoe factory. I tried, but I just didn't fit in.

 

I became a professional fisherman, but discovered that I couldn't live on my net income.

 

I managed to get a good job working for a pool maintenance company, but the work was too draining.

 

So then I got a job at a workout center, but they said that I wasn't fit for the job.

 

I finally got a job as a historian--until I realized there was no future in it.

 

My last job was working at Starbucks, but I had to quit because it was always the same old grind.

 

SO I RETIRED...AND FOUND I AM PERFECT FOR THE JOB

 

 

If the sky above seems cloudy,

And you are left out in the rain,

If you are searching for a rainbow,

But the colors bring you pain,

 

 

If your world is not revolving,

And there is no end in sight,

If you are looking for the sunshine,

But all you see is night,

 

 

If all around are smiling,

But all you can do is frown,

If you are tired of all this living,

When life just brings you down,

 

 

 Then look beyond your teardrops,

At the wonders of this land,

The beauty of a flower,

Like velvet in your hand.

 

 

Feel the air around you,

The smell of new mown hay,

Laughing children in the park,

The innocence there at play,

 

 

Imagine floating with a butterfly,

As she flutters between the trees,

Or the whispers of the ocean,

On warm hot summer's breeze,

 

 

Think of the taste of candy floss,

As it melts upon your tongue,

Or the melody of morning birds,

As they greet each day with song,

 

 

Remember words of beauty,

Told in your mother's embrace,

Feel the gentleness of her touch,

As she softly kissed your face,

 

 

Seek the good within you,

Cast the clouds from your sky,

Don't look toward the pavement,

But hold your head up high,

 

 

Think not what life owes you,

But of all you have to give,

Forget about tomorrow,

Then you can start to live.

 

 

So bless this age you are living in,

With the gifts you can bestow,

Don't disregard the stream of life,

Go gently with the flow.