Lawrence Hall
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poeticdrivel.blogspot.com
Participation Ribbons
John Wayne as Steve Williams:
“How'd you do last season?”
Charles Coburn as Father Malone: “We showed up for every
game.”
Steve Williams: “I'd say that was raw courage.”
-Trouble Along the Way (1953)
I’ve heard of participation
ribbons
But I’ve never seen one. Do
they exist?
People seem to disapprove of
them
But participation means
showing up
There are those who wake up
every morning
Feed the kids breakfast, fire
up an old car
Make the school run, and then
are off to work
At the cafe’, the store, or
the auto shop
That’s participation, all
right, and courage
A ribbon? Most folks deserve
a medal
As a farm boy, a university
dropout, a brown-water sailor, an ambulance driver, an offshore worker, a
factory hand, an LVN, a teacher, and a father I have never seen a participation
ribbon. If you, dear reader, were ever given one of those mythological constructs
I’d sure like to hear from you. And I do mean you, about the one you received,
not what you’ve read or heard.
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