15 SEP 08: HOW QUICKLY WE FORGET

The big day has passed, so I can be a bit less emotional about it. We're two days away from Constitution Day, so I don't have a longing to wave a U.S. flag about it. But someone needs to bring it up. And it seems military activist Jim Rhodes no longer is in shape to do it -although you wonder if his large hat collection is mentioned in his will.

Somebody's gotta ask it: why did the city of Columbus do NOTHING to mark 11 September this year? There was no memorial service, no ceremony of any sort - and you can't blame this one on Hurricane Ike, because the storm hadn't made landfall yet.

Events for "Patriot Day" (as President Bush has dubbed it) were a bit hard to find in this area. Fort Benning held a commemorative "Freedom Run," but it began before sunrise. Perhaps the goal was to reenact the surprise strike against Afghanistan a few weeks later....

A couple of local schools had flagpole ceremonies on 11 September, but apparently not very many. Harris County High School went farther, staging a patriotic concert in the evening. But let's see if that happens again next year - when 11 September falls on a football Friday.

We mentioned last week that Carmen Cavezza and the Columbus State University Cunningham Center quietly dropped the 11 September program it staged last year. Instead, a few dozen students gathered in the evening at the clock tower - then were moved indoors by rain. Having the students hold up cigarette lighters instead of candles could have sent a wrong health message.

(One 11 September commemoration admittedly gave me mixed emotions. Fred's stores donated all profits last Thursday to first responders, such as public safety agencies. Is this a small step toward making Patriot Day like President's Day? Or is this to make up for the chain barring firefighters from taking donations outside?)

It wasn't always this way on 11 September. In 2002, there was an anniversary ceremony outside the Civic Center with the dedication of a large flagpole. Nowadays, there aren't even concrete barriers protecting the pole - and you'd think the tall brick flower boxes behind the flag could be used as hiding places.

Have city officials forgotten some Fort Benning personnel are in Iraq right now - even though the Third Brigade currently is resting comfortably at home? Well, perhaps I shouldn't say "resting." The soldiers probably are keeping busy - and come December, they'll have to work up their own sweat outside for a change.

Have we forgotten the U.S. military still is fighting battles, seven years after the 11 September attacks? There's not only the mission in Iraq, but a slowly growing threat in Afghanistan - not to mention the fights in court over what to do with the inmates at Guantanamo Bay....

But perhaps this move away from 11 September ceremonies is simply inevitable in Columbus. There used to be Pearl Harbor Day ceremonies outside the Government Center - but last year, that event was moved to a veterans' post. There's one advantage to this -- the free lunch afterward doesn't require any driving.

Perhaps we've decided to leave the "big events" on September 11 to the scenes of the attacks. But for anyone of "baby boomer" age or younger, the day is probably the biggest milestone of their lives. Simply saluting a lowered flag doesn't seem like enough - but then, first responders may feel like they received their top honor when the one-cent sales tax was approved.

People in several states and at least three countries are reading our new blog about poker and life. Visit "On the Flop!"

THE BIG BLOG QUESTION on the presidential election ended Sunday night - and a massive 90 percent of our voters say they support the Republican ticket (19-2). The person who claimed to have voted for the Democrats "accidentally" is advised to take it up with a county election board in Florida.

E-MAIL UPDATE: One of Sunday's Instant Messages brought a reply - but not quite from the place we expected....

Richard!

I hope all is well back in Columbus. What a surprise to find my name in your blog this morning... as I prepare my forecast for the morning news (yep, still doing weather, and still checking the blog daily). Congrats to Susan-Elizabeth for making the trifecta. But, I did, in fact, reach that same milestone while at WRBL. Back when I anchored weekends with Mara Kelly, I did sports for about a month. I believe that was right after Thomas Forester left (remember him?). In my later days there, I also co-hosted the Sports Xtra Show with Jack Rodgers and Dan Edward. I only did sports a few times, perhaps that gives you a clue on how well (or poorly) I did!

Keep up the good work. You're my connection to Columbus!

Best,

Blaine

Blaine Stewart currently is listed as a "Reporter/Weather Forecaster" with a TV station in Norfolk, Virginia. I forgot about his fill-in sports duty in Columbus several years ago. Maybe it was because he didn't seem to root for his hometown New Orleans Saints enough.

Now for other quick items that we came across Sunday:

+ A convenience store employee on Macon Road told me gasoline sales remain slow, after the big rush of Friday. It's nice to see people are being patient, in the wake of Hurricane Ike - perhaps expecting Houston and Galveston will return to normal by Monday afternoon.

+ ESPN announced its "GameDay" college football show will originate from Auburn this Saturday. This sounded good for a few minutes - but then I realized it probably meant Erin Andrews would be working at another game.

+ The latest college football poll knocked Georgia down from second to third, behind Southern California and Oklahoma. In a way, I don't mind this - because Kansas meets Oklahoma in mid-October, and a Jayhawk win will catapult my team that much higher.

+ Instant Message to the man who told me Sunday I was ripped off by that auto repair shop: OK, you may be right. I found a master cylinder on sale online for as low as 34 dollars. The repair shop's bill lists the price at 314 dollars. But I took a discount coupon to the repair shop - and never imagined I needed to take a laptop, too.

Our number of unique visitors is now up 28 percent from last year. To advertise to our readers, offer a story tip or comment on this blog, write me - but be warned, I may post your e-mail comment and offer a reply.

BURKARD BULK MAIL INDEX: 1035 (- 58, 5.3%)

The views expressed in this blog are solely those of the author -- not necessarily those of anyone else in Columbus living or dead, and perhaps not even you.

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