Here’s two statements from last Sunday’s (Feb. 12) paper:

“The Salisbury Post welcomes letters to the editor and submitted columns.”

“Submitted columns and letters are the sole opinion of the author.”

Here’s what I say from the Woodshed. I feel welcome since we have a different editor. And opinions are like bellybuttons.  Everybody should have one. So, here goes mine.

In last Sunday’s paper I read these three articles. One was a letter, one was a column and the other one was a story.

The letter was “Recycling more would cut down on litter problems.”  After reading it a couple times, I still have the same question that’s never been answered.

If littering is illegal, and releasing balloons is a blatant form of littering, why isn’t releasing balloons illegal?

Did you hear that veterinarians are giving out birth control to dogs now?  It’s called the anti-litter program.

The second reading was “Stop talking out of both sides of your mouth.”  I didn’t have read that one but once. I got it the first time.  Here’s my thoughts about it, and I’m also hoping you have better luck with your people than I’ve had with mine.

The way to get rid of the problem is to quit working on the problem and start “working on the solution” —  W.O.T.S. for short.

That reminded me of a joke.  What did the baby light bulb say to its mama?

I love you a whole watts.

The last piece I read was this report, “Veterans cheer over change in location for flag in park.”

I ask this feller one time if he was a veteran? Here was his answer and I loved it!  He said, “Hell no, I’m not a veteran. I’m a combat veteran!”

If you got that, welcome to the real world. If you didn’t, do like the preacher whose lawnmower wouldn’t crank and he didn’t know how to cuss, Keep pullin’ on it, it’ll come to you.

So to make a long story longer, I’m not a veteran.  But I am a combat veteran and I don’t need any veteran or anyone else to speak for me, to dedicate anything to me, or to honor me for any reason.

Now to get to my header, “Five flags over Salisbury.” I also want to be “aesthetic and logistical.”  I studied on it quite a bit, and I’m thinkin’ we need four more flags “a flyin’ ” to make the park a real beauty.

Since placing Old Glory had the veterans cheering, just think how many more people would be cheering if you placed the “Battle Flag” in the South corner of the park.  They could dedicate it to all the people that they didn’t know but think they did. I don’t know what anybody did or didn’t do in that war, or World War I, World War II, Korea, or any other war.  I only know what I did in Vietnam. So, please, don’t thank me.

Now we’ve got people gettin’ testy and uneasy.  Don’t worry.  We’ve got two more corners and three flags to go.

In the third corner, let’s put up the Pan-African flag.  We could dedicate it to Charley Pride. He probably done more for this great country, especially when he sang “All His Children” than all the veterans in ROCO put together.

Two more flags and one more corner.  The Mexican flag should go there in that last corner.  We should put Johnny Rodriguez’s name on that plaque so you can “Pass Me By.”

Now we got one more flag but no more corners.  We got very aesthetic with all them different colors, so let’s do some more logistics and plan to put a flag right in the middle of the park. Which flag?

I can only think of one, the Rainbow Flag.  Two names should be dedicated to this one.  Gilbert Baker and John Paulk.

The moral of my story is this.  We are all connected.  Everything is connected to everything else.  So no matter how many flag poles you plant, or where you put them, the death toll in Turkey and Syria keeps going up.

Keep on smilin’

Whitey Harwood lives in Rowan County.