An Open Letter & Open Report / Billy Joe
From: HK Edgerton [hk.edgerton@gmail.com]
Date: Mon, Dec 5, 2016
Subject: Fwd: Roanoke revamps Christmas parade rules after last year’s controversy – Roanoke News – Mobile
To: siegels1 [siegels1@mindspring.com]An Open Letter & Open Report / Billy Joe
Dear Ms. Lunelle,
On Saturday morning, December 3, 2016, as I made my way up Highway 9 towards the Continental Divide with the Southern Cross in hand, a young Black couple with South Carolina license plates would pull alongside me and ask if their baby boy could take a picture with me?
No sooner than they had pulled over to the side of the road, their baby boy (Billy Joe) would bolt from his mom’s hand, racing right up to me with a big grin on his face. “Mr. Flag man, my mama and daddy said you were a hero, and probably the bravest man in the whole world. I want to be a Flag Man just like you when I grow up!”
“Can I hold your flag?” I had to help him, and we took that picture as his dad who, to this point, had not said a word, stood smiling with his arms folded looking on with pride. And after his wife had taken about six pictures, he would thank me for taking the time to make his son so happy.
I would give the three of them a big hug, and wave as the baby boy shouted out the window of the car, “Mr. Flag Man, I love you. Merry Christmas!” I thought to myself as I returned the waves of the other cars passing by it is too bad that those who bad mouth the Southern Cross could not spend a day with me to share all this love.
I shall retire my Battle Flag that would travel to the White House during President Obama’s first Inauguration, and so many places before it would be attacked on Veterans Day past in Columbia, South Carolina.
Due to the lack of funding support for the second leg of the March Across Florida Revival March, in all likelihood, may be cancelled, and the 15 year anniversary of the Historic March Across Dixie March scheduled for 2017 appears to be headed for the same fate.
And. after my appearance at the Lee/Jackson celebration on January 21, 2017 at the Foundry in Knoxville, Tennessee, I will no longer be free to sign shirts; they will be pre signed from Dixie Outfitters. God bless you!
Your brother,
HK
Kentucky Colonel
