Freedom's Care

Two men folding a large flag on the corner of 3rd Ave. & 56^th Street just before Independence Day.

Freedom’s Care

The days just before Independence Day can sometimes be frenetic.  This was one of those days!  I was racing up town in a shared car.  My mind was also racing, filled with worry, hoping to get to the Ballet, and my daughter, at Lincoln Center on time.  I looked out the window to my right and took a deep breath to clear my head.  That’s when “Freedom’s Care” captured my vision and temporized the city’s pace.

Two men of different backgrounds were carefully lowering a large American Flag from the front of a Citi building.  It was a site I’ve seen thousands of time.  Yet, I’ve never seen it play out quite like this.  At this moment, I was grateful to be stopped in traffic.  It allowed me to watch the men without difficulty and with all-consuming interest.

One man slowed his pull on the hoisting chain just enough to allow his flag service companion to reach out and grasp the deliberately descending flag.  Both men demonstrated a practiced ability to gently caress our flag’s cloth with reverence and purpose.  I considered as they sought all four corners, moved their feet to extend the large banner’s full length and then meticulously fold it correctly, with pride and honor.  The car began to move forward again, just as the men completed their last careful, triangular fold.

The car was moving forward, but my mind was not.  It was no longer racing madly toward the skilled, graceful dancers of Swan Lake.  Perhaps it was because I had a feeling that I’d already seen a cherished, classic ballet on this warm evening?  A ballet that some believe is no longer fashionable on the stages of our increasingly large, multicultural cities.  Yet, I was there to witness it first hand and feel its power in my heart.  It reminded me of another car and another driver in the same city, often referred to as the “Capitol of the World.”

He was driving me to the airport as we conversed over the happenings of the day.  Said he, “Don’t ever worry about our patriotism here!  We will stand with you by the thousands and perhaps the millions to preserve our shared way of life and constitution.”  Perhaps the three years since we had that conversation had dimed his words of resolve in my memory.  Now, two men, folding our flag with the art and grace of well-rehearsed and classically trained ballerino brought his words, and our conversation, rolling back with each turn of the car’s wheels toward another dance as we turned from 66^th Street onto 9^th Avenue, before pulling up in front of Lincoln Center and its magnificent opera house.  When the car stopped, I got out with peace and calm in my heart. 

“It is as if the City purposefully and powerfully reminded me of importance of freedom’s care.”  I whispered reverently to myself. 

The days just before Independence Day can sometimes be frenetic.  This day started out as one of those days!  I was racing up town in a shared car.  My mind was also racing, filled with worry, hoping to get to the Ballet, and my daughter, at Lincoln Center on time.  I looked out of the window, to my right, and took a deep breath to clear my anxious mind.  That’s when two men of differing backgrounds, united the three of us as Americans, whilst they danced the “Freedom’s Care Ballet,” seemingly just to remind me of the importance of our Independence Day celebration. 

Their well composed and practiced dance captured my vision, calmed my heart & mind, and restored my faith that we will continue to live free in America.