Fabric

There was a kingdom and it was a fortunate place in many respects. The land was pleasant and productive. There were many wonderful access points to the sea. The people were industrious and full of good feelings for their situation. And why not, for they were blessed to have a king both wise and good. It does happen sometimes. Sometimes a king is wise without being good. Perhaps the best that can be said for such a king is that he is clever. Sometimes a king is kind but not wise. This almost always leads to trouble. But king Percell was both wise and good and the people were blessed because of it and they knew it. Now nothing in life seems perfect, although some would argue that life is, by definition, perfect. Nonetheless there was one very big challenge facing king Percell’s kingdom. He had lived a long life and was getting quite old. We all know what happens. He had been married for decades to the love of his heart, queen Teressa. But queen Teressa had died some years ago without children. Some advisors counseled king Percell to remarry so the king might have an heir to continue his great work. Purcell could not. He had so deeply loved his Teressa he had vowed never to remarry, never to share his bed again, never to walk hand in hand in the garden again, always to remember that special joy and love he had shared with Teressa with the greatest reverence possible. King Percell had thought and prayed and meditated and asked the stars and talked with the streams and communed with the birds and every creature in his kingdom about who should be king when his days were through. After quite some time king Percell devised a plan. He did not know if it was a good plan or the best plan or even an adequate plan, but it was the plan that he had decided on and so be it. We all know that when you are king, especially when you are a beloved king, you get to enact your plans without too much or any opposition. And so it was that on the third sunny day in the first month of spring that king Purcell called together all who could come together to hear his plan. ************************************ “I am getting quite old. I know not tomorrow or the day after but my tomorrows are indeed coming to an end.” There were quite the many “no no your majestys” and “long live king Purcells” and so forth. It would have gone on longer but king Purcell raised a gentle hand and there was silence. “Let us always remember each other. And we shall, as a kingdom, live tomorrow and the day after and many tomorrows and many days after those tomorrows. Please hear how your next king, or queen for that matter, shall be chosen.” There was silence. Great silence. A squirrel started to chirp a bit but was stared down immediately. “Communicate my words to all who would hear them. Let he or she who would follow me perform this task. Create a flag to represent our kingdom. This flag should be made of the most splendid fabric so as to testify to the wonderful abundance of our lives and this flag should communicate the greatness of our people. I will judge these flags and the words of those who have created them on the last sunny day of summer.”

And that was that. King Purcell signaled the end of the gathering by simply walking back to his castle. All bent a knee and bowed a head. There was silence. Great silence. That is until king Purcell had entered the castle and then what a ruckus as the many, many thousands gathered, like a flash of lightning which ignites a tree, opened the discussion. It had been an unusual day and there was much speculation, argument, questioning, hand wringing, hair pulling, prayers to the gods beseeching guidance and good fortune and all those things that people beseech the gods for and so forth. This went on long into the night for many had traveled near and far to attend and would not leave till the morning. There were great cauldrons of soups and stews. Wonderful freshly baked breads and pies. Barrels of beers and meads and wines. All promptly dispatched from the castle. King Purcell was both wise and good.

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The spring passed with many sunny days. And some rain. And some cooler than might have been hoped for, but weather will be weather. Summer was largely passed. There were many sunny days. And some rain. And some days hotter than might have been hoped for, but weather will be weather. Many had initially thought they would create a marvelous flag and so become king or queen. But the simplicity of the task somehow overwhelmed many if not most. The task demanded a purity of vision coupled with an abundance of resources. Many started, few finished. There were some, and perhaps they were the wise ones, who thought that being king or queen was not such a great thing to which to aspire. Well, the last sunny day of summer had come. People gathered from the many nooks and crannies of the kingdom. They were curious. They were anxious. They had heard the stories of the great party that took place after the last such meeting and they certainly didn’t want to miss such an event this time. In the end there were only three who had completed the task. In mid morning on that last sunny day in summer, Samantha Broadmeer purposely strode to the center of the gathering. She bowed to king Purcell and addressed king and fellow inhabitants of the kingdom. “Your majesty. Good citizens of our kingdom. The stated task was to create a flag. A flag made of the most splendid fabric. A fabric to testify to the wonderful abundance of our lives. And this flag should communicate the greatness of our people. I present to our king and all the kingdom what I believe is such a flag. “As you know, I am the daughter of general Broadmeer. You all know of his victories. You all know of the peace our kingdom has enjoyed, for no one would want to be our enemy. This flag has been made from flag sections of each of our noble land brigades and naval warships. Also are commemorations of our great victories that have been the key component in building this great kingdom of ours. There can be no greater fabric than the memory of all who have fought and lived and fought and died to build and secure out kingdom. And there can be no greater testament to the greatness of our people. Long live our kingdom and long live king Purcell!” What a roar! What a cheer! It must have been heard miles away. And it lasted for quite a while. King Purcell had remained focused and stoic during the presentation. King Purcell remained focused and

stoic during the enthusiastic outburst. He raised his hand just a bit and the crowd was instantly quiet. He was the king. “Thank you Samantha Broadmeer. Your work reveals your great love of kingdom. We are grateful to you. It is a fine flag indeed.” And what a fine flag it was! It was big. It was indeed covered with all manner of proud military patches and ribbons and medals. Many young ones in the crowd envisioned glorious military futures for themselves. Many who had served remembered their own exploits. Exploits that were perhaps swollen a bit with the passage of time, but so be it. How could any flag be greater than this? There was much more cheering. King Purcell raised his hand just a bit again and the crowd was again instantly quiet. He was the king. “Now, I believe that Simon Peters will present his flag.”

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Simon Peters was the son of Franklin Peters. Franklin Peters was the son of Thomas Peters. And Thomas Peters was the son of Edward “Shipbulder” Peters. There was simply no greater family in all things related to the sea. The family built the ships. The family saw to it that the ships were captained and crewed with capable and loyal seamen. These ships ranged far and wide and were indeed masters of commerce. They created wealth for the kingdom, for anyone trading with them and for all those in the downhill stream of the commerce pertaining to the goods their ships carried. And yes, wealth for the Peters family. Great wealth. Everyone was eager to see and hear about the “flag that Peters built” as it had come to be known. The Peters were not a family to do things half way. Simon walked erect to the center of the gathering. Perhaps he felt as if he were auditioning, sort of trying on new clothes. And indeed, many could envision him wearing those clothes. “Oh great king Purcell. Honored citizens of the kingdom. It is true we are admired. We are admired as far as our Peters ships have sailed and even beyond.” And this point some in the crowd were unsure who the “we” he was referring to referred to. “The wealth of our kingdom is legendary,” Simon continued, “ and for this we should all be thankful.” Again, some in the crowd were curious who Simon thought to whom they should be thankful. The Peters were known to blow their own boson’s pipe, if you know what I mean. Simon carried on,” a flag made of the most splendid fabric that would testify to the wonderful abundance of our lives and a flag that communicates the greatness of our people. These were king Purcell’s own words.” Simon turned to the king and bowed. Some thought not as deep a bow as might be warranted but a Peters was a Peters. The king gave a short nod in reply. His eyes shown with approval. Or were they saying, “get on with it, you windbag.” It is a king’s prerogative to keep such thoughts to himself. He is the king. “The flag that we offer for your approval has been made with the finest and rarest materials in the world. Surely this is the great abundance of our lives. And surely this is what makes our kingdom great!” And with that Simon clapped his hands and eight tall men in the Peters seamen uniforms came to the center. They unfurled the flag. Gasps. Then silence. Great silence. Then a great cheer. For the flag was simply magnificent. Well, simply is not the word, certainly not the word to be used in conjunction with this flag. It

was large. It took those eight tall seamen in their Peters seamen’s uniforms to display it. They turned slowly so as to display it to all in the assemblage. They had clearly practiced their piece of this drama. The flag shimmered. It shined. And the reason for all this shimmering and shining became apparent as the citizens one by one realized what the fabric of the flag was. It was silk. The finest silk. Interwoven with endless threads of spun gold and silver. And covered with a profusion of gems. Emeralds, sapphires, diamonds and more. The entire circumference was made of the most perfect large pearls ever seen. It must have weighed a ton. Those close to the eight tall men in Peters seamen uniforms could not help but notice they were starting to sweat a bit. And just then another shift of eight tall men in Peters seamen uniforms arrived and seamlessly relieved the first bunch. No one would ever accuse a Peters enterprise of not being meticulously organized. With that, Simon Peters offered a gracious bow to king and citizens. He stepped off to the side of king Purcell. Perhaps he thought this was correct. Certainly many in the crowd could envision no greater flag. It was magnificent! “Thank you Simon Peters. This is indeed a splendid flag. You have worked long and hard and we commend you for your efforts.” After a minute or two of reflection some might have thought the flag a bit too much, well just too much, but so be it. How could any flag be greater than this? There was a great deal more cheering. King Purcell raised his hand just a bit once more and the crowd was once more instantly quiet. He was the king. I shouldn’t have to remind you. “And now, I believe that Susan of Middle Vale will present her flag.”

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A smaller size woman stepped forward to the center of the gathering. Her voice was not particularly loud but she spoke with clarity and much evident sincerity. “My name is Susan. I was born in and I have lived my life in Middle Vale. It is fine place. Life is not overly easy but life is good. We help each other and so we get along well.” “Our flag is not nearly so grand as the first two you have seen. But let me tell you about it all the same. We needed thread to weave a flag so we went to the shepherds of Longfall Hills. They were glad to contribute but they needed help bringing the sheep to the sheering pen since it wasn’t the time of year to move their entire flocks. Julie and Tom from Constant Creek offered to help. They in turn needed someone to watch their children while they were away. Goodly Jennifer, whom we all just call grandmother, and maybe you have heard of her and maybe not, anyway grandmother watched the kids. To spin the thread was easy for we had many volunteers. But to fill in the needed tasks that those volunteers could not accomplish, we needed many more volunteers. You see, each of us has enough, but few have surplus. But all were glad to do whatever was needed to help create this flag. There was and is great love of our kingdom and our king in our hearts. There were more than five hundred people each doing their own little piece. Our flag does not commemorate our great battles, nor is it made from any expensive materials, but we are all proud of it. And we will always remember the spirit in which it was made and pass the story down to our children and our children’s children.” Yes silence. A great silence. King Purcell walked over to Susan of Middle Vale. He took the flag in his hands and lifted it for all to see. It was indeed a much simpler flag than the first two. Rough but honestly spun. A clear blue background which was perhaps the color of the sky on that last sunny day in summer. And a depiction of twelve people holding hands while looking to the sky, perhaps in prayer or perhaps in appreciation. And King Purcell brought the flag to his lips and kissed it. And he raised it again high above his head for all to see. And all could also see that he was clearly crying. And all kneeled down in respect to their future Queen Susan of Middle Vale. King Purcell raised a hand and in the quiet that immediately followed he said, “Susan of Middle Vale and I will repair to the castle now for we have much to discuss.” It had been an unusual day and all agreed it would be a day they would remember forever. And remember to their children and remember to their children’s children. The night indeed went on long into the night for many had traveled near and far to attend and would not leave till the morning. There were great cauldrons of soups and stews. Wonderful freshly baked breads and pies. Barrels of beers and meads and wines with which to lubricate the many, many toasts and good wishes offered all around. All promptly dispatched from the castle. King Purcell was both wise and good.