The Guy with the Flag

Finally the guy with the Flag came forward. Please follow the links below to read the rest of the story! Frank Downs a Patriot Guard Rider member from Massachusetts proudly held our flag during the the funeral services that day.

My “Flag Man found” post.

My original “HATE” post with over 120 comments.

If you visit please read the comments as they are from people all over the country and even overseas.

Flag Man Found

Friday was a pretty emotional day for me.  The guy with the flag and his wife Pamela,who just happens to be a real estate agent in Massachusetts, came to Hampstead New Hampshire to meet me.  If you haven’t read my story about when Hate came to Hampstead please take a few moments and read it so that this will make sense to you.Our meeting was recorded by the Union Leader Newspaper which is the largest newspaper in NH.  They also interviewed me last week about my original Hate post and I posted about that experience on my blog.

Over this last week I’ve had a lot of people e-mail me and comment on my post…all wanting to know who the guy holding the flag was so they could shake his hand and say Thank You. He remained a mystery…no one seemed to know who he was.

This past Monday, he came to my office, Prudential Verani Realty in Hampstead but I was away teaching in Vermont. He left me a yellow rose but no contact information.  The mystery deepened.

Finally he decided to come forward…the guy I called gruffy in my Hate post the guy who held the flag.

He is a member of the Patriot Guard Riders out of Massachusetts and came that day to pay tribute by showing respect for our fallen hometown hero being buried that day.  Mr McGruffy (aka Frank Downs) arrived a little late and experienced for the first time this hateful group of uninvited guests (UG’s) standing on our street corner.

I’m not sure how many Patriot Guard members were in town that day but I do know that the 7 Hampstead members were joined by many more from all across NH and New England. They provided a human shield preventing the family and mourners from seeing the hateful scene being played out down the road.  For that I am so grateful. The thought, that the family might see these people polluting our town was just too much to bare. The Patriot Guard Riders were there making sure that would not happen.

Prior to this I really didn’t even know they existed.  My good friend and fellow NH blogger Ann Cummings had posted about them in her post called Wreaths Across America other than that I knew nothing.  My education was about to begin! Guess what my next post will be about??? The PGR!
This post is about Frank Downs. He gave us something that day, a small act that seemed so big and for those of us on the corner that day he made a difference.

What he did by holding that flag and staring quietly at those hateful people gave us hope.  little things can make a difference…ordinary people can make a difference. Thank you Frank and Thank you to all the Patriot Guard members across the nation… you all make a difference.  (Patriot Guard Riders marching photo courtesy of Arline Grant)

Power of Active Rain-Patriotism Prevails

Power Of Active Rain- Patriotism Prevails over Protest

The Power of the Rain

Last week I wrote a little post about when hate came to my town. While it wasn’t a featured Post…nor widely read by Rainers, it had a life of it’s own.

My little post traveled, far and wide, beyond the borders of Hampstead, New Hampshire. A college student in Newton, Mass. found it and sent the link home to her mother in Hampstead. A woman in Maine who read it, was really touched by it, felt compelled to let me know how it made her feel. She told me that she passed my words on to others as she felt it was something that everyone should read.

I’ve had e-mails from people talking about the impact of my “Voice” and how my post affected them.
Today I’m on the front page of the biggest NH newspaper,The Union Leader and on the front page of their website…so is Active Rain. It was amazing to be interviewed and have the write up be on the front page. I was interviewed by Shawne Wickham and she was excellent.

I’m so honored and touched by the reaction of so many that I don’t know what to say but “thank you” for reading.

Was it The Power of the Rain that sent that blog post beyond my little world. Absolutely! Was it my voice…have I finally found it ? I’m not sure but I think I’m getting closer.

The Power of the Rain…gave me my voice. Then TLW…Billie Tutas started the REALTY Blogging Book Club which helped me find my voice and along with the other lovely ladies of the book club I was able to grow and refine my voice. Active Rain became my learning center…I’ve blogged about Mice and Biker Chicks but writing about Hate was scary. Writing about Hate propelled me outside of my comfort zone. I wasn’t even sure I should post it but Jay encouraged me to do so. I was afraid as it all seemed so personal but I posted it anyway.

I can’t believe the reaction my little Hate post has received outside the Rain.

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Hampstead New Hampshire… a fallen hero and people filled with hate

HATE

Such an ugly word isn’t it?

Maybe I’ve been sheltered but I’ve never really felt that word before nor have I used it. HATE is such a strong lonely word…thinking about it makes me incredibly sad.

Today for the first time in my life I “felt” hate. Hard, Cold, Ugly, Hate and it made me more than sad, it made me mad and it brought me to tears.

My small town buried a war hero on Wednesday, a fallen child, a human being, who fought and died in Iraq. He was newly married and a real nice guy by all accounts. He gave his life and left behind a family who loved him dearly. I didn’t know him personally but I felt the incredible sadness of his death.

This is not a Political/Religious Post nor is it a War Protest post…please I ask that you don’t turn it into such. This is a post about Hate…simply hate.

I had the mid day shift in my office in Hampstead New Hampshire. My office is located right in the center of town…next to a church and school.
The funeral was scheduled for 1 pm. I believe nearly the entire town showed up and then some. At about 11:00 a.m. we were notified that there would be a protest, an anti-war demonstration and that they would be on the public walkway in front of our office.

They had a “right to protest and be heard” and we had no choice as to allow them to do their thing, freedom of speech, public property…they had the right.
To say we were upset puts it mildly…embarrassed that during a funeral of a local boy…people would do this…we just didn’t understand but we were resigned to whatever would happen.

I’ve seen news accounts of these types of things…but the TV was somehow a barrier a safe barrier. I know these things are very real but I never expected this.

It was small scale with only 3 protesters and many more police. I watched from the safety of my window…my insulation slipping away slowly.

I could not believe what I was seeing…what the signs said. I mean someone was being buried here, people, humans had broken hearts here and these people were spewing hateful things for all to see and hear.

Could these people possibly be local people?? I had to find out.
I took out my camera and went outside with another lady. Real ugly hate filled our little street corner. I made the mistake of saying “aren’t you ashamed of yourself doing this?” I can’t repeat what was said back to me by a woman who delighted in verbally attacking me. But I looked hate in the eye today…I’ve never seen what hate looked like, up close like that.

These 3 “people” were flown in by a “church” from the mid-west (Kansas) to spread the word…and it was sickening.

I can’t seem to shake the stench. I’m not sure what they were protesting and the reaction of the towns people was shock and dismay.

Some people drove by blowing horns and some gesturing with their fingers but nothing bothered these people.

Finally a man…very gruff looking came walking up, he seemed to come out of nowhere, carrying a huge American flag and he stood in our parking lot about 15 feet away from the protesters. He stood there holding the flag all alone.

We didn’t know what he was up to…was he one of them? Then the police came and talked to him…he stayed and held that flag tightly. Suddenly, other people joined him in our parking lot and they stood together with his large flag between them. They just stood quietly by, while hate was delivered in their direction.

Our parking lot crowd grew, the protesters seemed to shrink, maybe it was all my imagination but they seemed to get smaller.

Pride filled my heart, even while it was breaking, for the pain this group of protesters were causing.

After a while an officer went over to the protesters and they packed it up…apparently they only had a permit to protest an hour and a half. Then the people in our parking lot started to dissipate and our Admin. Pat went out to thank the big guy holding the flag. He told her all we can do is out number them.

Hate…what a waste of an emotion. I saw hate today and it was as ugly as I had imagined it to be. But, I have never heard nor imagined that such disturbing rantings could come from the mouths and hearts of fellow human beings. The stench is overwhelming and the sadness is suffocating. They left a part of me that will never be the same.

But the man with the Flag, he made me proud…I wish I knew who he was. I bet he was a local guy!

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Call to Action…We need your help!!!!

New Hampshire REALTORS and Home Owners *****Call to Action****
Fellow REALTORS�, members of the public, we need your help in fighting a proposed increase to the real estate transfer tax (RETT). The New Hampshire House budget includes a RETT increase from the current $15 per $1000 to $15.60 per $1000 of the sale price. This RETT increase would be dedicated to the Land and Community Heritage Investment Program (LCHIP).
While we support the work of (LCHIP), we are strongly opposed to a dedicated fund on the backs of our clients, the buyers and sellers of real estate. Certainly, this segment of the population is paying more than its fair share and should not be subject to additional taxation.
Please come to the New Hampshire State House for a public hearing on the budget, scheduled for Tuesday, April 17, from 3 to 5 p.m. and 6 to 9 p.m. to show your opposition to this increase in the real estate transfer tax!
Please attend as much of the public hearing as you can, as it is important that our opposition to the increase in the RETT is recognized.
If you plan to attend some or all of the public hearing on the 17th, please e-mail Christopher Nicolopoulos at Chris@nhar.com so that we can coordinate our opposition.

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