Looking back over my life, one of my fondest memories is of me and my brother arguing over the Pledge of Allegiance. The dialogue goes something like this …

Mike: “I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God …“

Sharon: No, Mike! You’ve got it all wrong! It’s not under God! It’s under GUARD!”

Mike: “Just because you are the oldest doesn’t mean you’re always right!”

Sharon: “Am so!”

Mike: “No, you are not because it’s under GOD not GUARD!”

Daddy, unbeknownst to both of us was recording this conversation (I have the cassette tape to prove it.) He was laughing at the two of us arguing over The Pledge of Allegiance.

Mike was four years old (and I was, with an extra year of knowledge on him, a big smarty pants, 5 year old.) Mike knew the correct wording, but I did not, and daddy was enjoying “the show,” so to speak.

At the time, Daddy was serving his home country in the United States Air Force while living in Berlin, Germany. The year was 1963, post World War II, a pivotal time in our U.S. history with the assassination of one of our most beloved presidents, John F Kennedy. If ever there was a time to know and say The Pledge of Allegiance, and say it correctly, it would have been then.

There has been much controversy and even lawsuits throughout the years regarding The Pledge of Allegiance, so I’m just gonna stick with my humor as to if it was written “under God” or “under guard.”

By the way, my brother and I never have disagreements anymore and being the children of a Fincher, both of us still have a sense of humor.

In such a contentious time with divisive politics, daddy is looking down on us with a smile on his face saying “maybe it’s both God and guard, but regardless, God Bless America.”