Kentucky Greetings, WoodyWatchers! We hope you have had a terrific Monday! Our family is loading up the Woody Bus, headed out of town for a week of presentations. My day has been spent making sure my Scooby backpack is loaded with all the things I need for life on the road. Speaking of being on the road, last Thursday our family spent the day in Paris! We love Paris in July! Paris, Kentucky that is!
We spent the afternoon at the Paris Bourbon County Public Library. When we visit, it is just like walking in the front door to our home. So many people that we have met over the years come to see us. We catch up on the latest news, see how much everyone as grown, and tell stories from the past year! We also snap lots of family photos! And, we learn new information! Let me tell you about what we learned on our last visit.
Mom and I were talking about our latest book, Mr. Dogwood Goes to Washington. While we were talking, Dad put the illustration from Chapter 8 on the screen. The illustration shows me with my cap over my heart, reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. Our illustrator, Mr. Asher, included an illustration of the photograph Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima originally taken by Joe Rosenthal. Mr. Rosenthal took the picture in 1945 during the Battle of Iwo Jima during World War II. It shows 5 United States Marines and 1 United States Navy corpsman raising the American flag on top of Mount Suribachi. Anyway, one of our friends who was at the library explained that the one of the United States Marines in the original photo was her cousin. His name was Franklin Sousley and he was a Kentucky boy! Isn't that cool?
Well, we love to research so we came home and looked it up. We learned that Franklin Sousley was born in 1925 in Fleming County, Kentucky and graduated from Fleming County High School. He joined the Marines after he received his draft notice. He later died in the Battle of Iwo Jima and received a Purple Heart after his death. It made us stop and say thanks to Mr. Sousley and all the other men and women who have fought for this great country! Our family will never look at that photo the same way again. I've said it before but I will say it again - if you ever see a military person, stop and say thanks! It is the very least we can do!
I better sign off for now. Chloe can only find three of her four flip flops so I need to help her find them so she can finish packing! This week will be exciting for our family. We will be doing presentations in Owensboro, Benton, and Paducah. We will be meeting Cleo (see the previous blog)for the first time and will even appear on Broadway! I can't wait to bark all about it!
Have a great week! Thank a military person, learn some new facts, keep up with all your flip flops, and Work and Dream like a BIG DOG!
WOODY
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