Flickr.com photo, Purple Heart"Steak With Flipper" Photos By Jeanie Hoholik, Keller Williams
When I was a little child, and I'd skin my knee and cry about it, my father would tolerate my whining for a little while but soon enough he'd growl: WHAT DO YOU WANT, A PURPLE HEART OR SOMETHING?
And, actually, I always thought...that wouldn't be so bad. Why is it only soldiers get Purple Hearts? Actually, it's only soldiers who hurt themselves IN BATTLE. I hurt myself in the army--and the Veterans Administration pays me monthly for the rest of my life--but do I get a Purple Heart? No, because it happened in peacetime, unlike that whole JAPANESE HAND GRENADE THING which happened to my father. I've often thought there should be a "brass heart" for peacetime injuries. But I digress.
The "flipper" I wrote about who hurt herself...
...is a soldier in the battle to revitalize North Minneapolis. She shed her blood in that effort but it didn't stop her from eating a steak, as you can see, above.
Extra rare, I would assume. That's how I'd order it, to replace lost iron, even though I really PREFER my steak well done.
Well, I said to myself...if I can award a "virtual" medal for valor, (click here) then why can't I award a "virtual" Purple Heart? Well, I can and I am.
FOR WOUNDS RECEIVED IN THE BATTLE TO REVITALIZE NORTH MINNEAPOLIS, I HEREBY AWARD...um, an anonymous flipper whose name I don't have, actually...THE PURPLE HEART.
Salute. Pat on the back. Now get back in the battle, little soldier.
I like how the bandaged hand of the benevolent flipper kind of looks like, well, a flipper. I used to walk past that house to get to Broadway; it's one of the factors that pushed me to buy my first car in fifteen years.
ReplyDeleteYes, the resemblance to an actual flipper on (for example) a seal is truly eerie.
ReplyDeleteWhat things were happening at that house which pushed you to buy a car?