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| Fig. 1 The flag and gazebo at Lake Ella. |
A few weeks ago, I got this idea to pray "the Patriotic Rosary" at Lake Ella on Independence Day, the 4th of July. I emailed people, many said they would come, and then as the day got closer, more and more people were not able to be there. "That's OK!" I said to myself, "I shall pray by myself if I have to." Originally I was going to walk around the lake while praying, but as it seemed there would be in-climate weather, I opted for the Gazebo (see Fig.2). It seemed that all was against this event! It was going to be pouring down rain, my printer stopped working (so I had to write the prayer handout by hand), and I was probably going to be by myself!!
Well, Our Lady had obviously set this one up! Five people from my church came (four of which I had NOT emailed), and three homeless vets and a couple of passers-by joined in. We sang "America", "America the Beautiful", "The Star Spangled Banner", "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" and "God Bless America". It all ended with one of the homeless vets, Ernie, spontaneously jumping up, saluting, and saying the "Pledge of Allegiance".
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| Fig. 2 The weather in Tallahassee on July 4th. |
The rain held back until everyone had returned to their cars, then the sky opened up and poured down a torrential rain! God poured down his blessings! (Fig. 2). I hung out with the homeless vests for a little while. Parker had been on a submarine in the Pacific and got a kick out of talking about geophysics, David played a song on my guitar he had written, and Ernie was trying to get their cell phones to charge and was hoping I knew some Jim Croce tunes (which I didn't). When I left, they thanked me profusely, and I thanked them for their service and all they had done for our country!
