Feeling Patriotic

Memorial Day is Monday, May 31, and so I'm feeling unusually patriotic. At least, watching the HBO series "The Pacific" the past few weeks has me in a mood to remember the WWII veterans -- old friends, long-gone relatives -- whom I knew personally.

One of the flags displayed on the Lipscomb University campus, at the Shackleford Road entrance, was just catching the early light as I rounded the turn on my morning walk. That entrance is flanked by massive Magnolia grandiflora trees in full bloom. The flag is above the athletic field to the west.







It's the flag of my country -- but had history taken a different course, I might be feeling sentimental today about a Confederate flag, or even a Spanish or French or Mexican banner.

Just before the little entrance pavilion to the university that I've shown above, there's a historical marker, commemorating a Confederate defensive line across these hills during the battle for Nashville, almost 150 years ago. I've left my photograph of that marker uncropped, for the contrast it brings to mind between today's busy street adjoining the peaceful campus and that long-ago scene of desperation and violence.



A short summary of the events surrounding the Battle of Nashville is at
http://www.answers.com/topic/battle-of-nashville .

For a longer account, see this interesting page on the website of the Civil War Preservation Trust:
http://www.civilwar.org/battlefields/nashville.html