My father is older now and does not move as fast as he used to, but when the flag passes by at a parade or a funeral, he still straightens up. Not perfect, not like before, but enough that you can see the old habit is still in him.
He served when he was young and then spent the rest of his life working regular jobs, raising kids, fixing whatever broke, and telling us not to waste the opportunities this country gave us.
He loved California because it gave him work and gave our family a future. He also loved America with all its problems, which I understand better now than I did when I was younger and thought everything was simple.
This hex is for my father, for the flag he still respects, and for the life he built one ordinary year at a time.