Fall Is Here, and Boys Sometimes Wear Shorts

The "Island" has been wrested from tourists for the year, and now we "natives" have our town and beaches back. As you may know, I have been a native for over six months. The beaches are nearly empty each day, except for the weekends. Hurricane season is just about over, and the bird species are changing, as the northern birds are starting to arrive for the coming winter. We have not been crabbing lately. The water is still warm but not as warm as in July and August. The crabs seem to bite somewhat slower lately. And lots of boys are still running around in shorts.

That reminds me of another boy who wore shorts. He was ten years old so I suppose he should have known better than to wear shorts to the Whitehouse...yes THE Whitehouse. No doubt his adult relatives should have known better than to dress this boy in shorts on such a special day. Nonetheless, when this family, the surviving relatives of a recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor, arrived at the Whitehouse, they were turned away because the boy was wearing shorts...oh, and a t-shirt. Not just any t-shirt, mind you, but a t-shirt bearing a picture of the very hero that was to be honored on this special day. The hero was this young boy's grandfather. Not only that, but the hero had been denied his well-deserved medal for over SIXTY years. So the family was finally at the Whitehouse to take the tour of West Wing in honor of the late grandfather national hero.

Remember, this man had been denied this honor while he was living, and his memory had been denied the honor for another couple of decades. And NOW...the honor was to be denied because the grandson was wearing shorts...and a t-shirt. Now I am not criticizing the President. In fact, I doubt that he was witness to these proceedings. No doubt a zealous hall monitor was performing his or her duties to the best of that person's abilities. And once again, this American Hero was denied his day of honor. Thank goodness for zealous hall monitors who protect the sanctity of the Whitehouse. But I wonder how much longer the family will have to wait for their next visit to the Whitehouse. More importantly, I wonder what lesson this child learned from the experience.

I am afraid that what he learned was this: After a genuine American hero has been denied his just reward and recognition for over sixty years, the "powers that be" will withhold the honor another day...if someone dares to wear shorts to the Whitehouse. Dress codes for children are much more important than honor for the veteran.