"Our character is what we do when we think no one is looking."  ~Quoted in P.S. I Love You, compiled by H. Jackson Browne
 We are a patriotic family. What started as a small collection of Americana things for a kitchen, has now permeated my entire house. You will see subtle American flags and bold American flags all over the inside of my home. My garden on either side of our home has a small flag nestled in it. These garden flags used to change with the holiday or the season, but I have made a conscious decision to keep the American flag up all year round. When we lived in Germany, I had to keep my garden flags in the shed because we had to be extremely vigilant and not draw attention to our home in the middle of our German village. An American flag in a garden may draw the attention of terrorist factions that want to do harm to military stationed overseas. I understood the logic with all of this, but I always found it funny that I couldn't put my American Jeep with American tags away which pretty much drew attention to our home in the middle of our German village. Nevertheless, I had to keep our flags tucked away for four years. I'm flying them now, all year round.
 We are also race fans. Growing up in Daytona Beach, Florida, I have always loved the sound of cars racing. It has been tradition for five years that we watch Nascar on Sundays. Vic's first deployment coincided with the beginning of Nascar season. The little place where they were able to see the race in Iraq didn't have enough room for all of his Soldiers to gather around and enjoy it. Vic's Soldiers, adept at all things electronic, spent over an hour wiring another television and got it all up and running before the green flag waved. They didn't break for much when they served in Iraq, but the Alpha Company Avengers made sure they were in front of the tv for almost every race that season.
 Sunday, we were watching another type of race. The Indy Car series was in town and we were excited to watch our home town on television as the racers ran through the streets of St Petersburg. The weather was rainy and had cooled off considerably. We opened our patio doors and the front door of the house so the fresh spring air could blow through the house. The open doors, race on television and flags in the garden all played important parts in something wonderful that happened on Sunday.
 As all races and most sporting events do, the Indy race began with our National Anthem. At the time that it started, without us knowing, one of our neighbors was passing the house. With the doors open, he heard the National Anthem and stopped walking. Quietly, he faced the front garden flag, placed his hand over his heart and, standing on the side of the road, began to sing. He did this until the anthem was finished and then he walked away. This beautiful act of patriotism would have gone completely unnoticed if it weren't for our teenager walking the dog. As Mitch turned the corner from walking our dog, he saw our neighbor standing and singing the last bars of our national anthem. I'm not sure which neighbor it was, one of several veterans, or the sweet gentleman who has such a nack with plants. I am sure of one thing though, the display of character, the unassuming act of patriotism, was a lesson that impacted our son. He didn't think too much about the garden flags, until Sunday. Now, whenever he sees them, he also sees our neighbor, pausing, singing, and probably thinking nobody was looking.