Greeson: Happy Veterans Day, whiskey on the go, Hall of Fame Toys, feedback

A car drives through American flags Wednesday Nov. 8, 2017, along Robin Road in Ringgold, Ga. Twice each year, the week before Memorial Day and the week before Veterans Day, volunteers place American flags along Ringgold's streets and highways to honor the county's fallen veterans.
A car drives through American flags Wednesday Nov. 8, 2017, along Robin Road in Ringgold, Ga. Twice each year, the week before Memorial Day and the week before Veterans Day, volunteers place American flags along Ringgold's streets and highways to honor the county's fallen veterans.
photo Jay Greeson

There has been a lot of consternation about how guys in helmets and shoulder pads have acted during the national anthem over the last 15 months.

Since Colin Kaepernick took a knee during the anthem last August, the backlash and back-and-forth have been strong.

But what about you?

Do you stand for the anthem when you are at a game? Almost everyone does.

Do you stand for the anthem when you are at home when it plays? If not, why not?

What's the difference? Standing at the game and not at home is not really patriotism as much as it feels like peer pressure.

And what about the folks who talk during the presentation of the colors or take that last second to get a round of snacks and Cokes or start sprinting toward their seats to get in place before the first play?

We ask this today, on Veterans Day, because all of us should be reminded of the sacrifices members of our military make on our behalf.

Outrage at someone else's actions is easy. Examining our own actions or words is more difficult.

And more important.

Did you see the sign?

A drunk woman - not sure if she went out or had it delivered - reportedly blasted a fast-food employee for being a racist for not allowing her to order French fries.

No, she was not a proud Parisian. And yes, she was more than a little tipsy.

And forbidding anyone an item on the menu can cause hurt feelings, drunk or sober.

Sadly, though this lady went on her rant at a Taco Bell, which, as other customers on the social media video that is circulating social media tried to tell her, sells "tacos and burritos."

Man, that racism knows no bounds.

Toy Hall of Fame

The board game Clue, the Wiffle Ball and the paper airplane are the three latest inductees into the National Toy Hall of Fame.

The announcement came Friday as the number of toys enshrined now reaches 65 in the hall, which lists its address on its site - toyhalloffame.org - as being in Rochester, N.Y.

Among the finalists denied in this class were a couple of long-time favorites and a couple more that should feel out-and-out irked by being left out of the hallowed halls of all-time toy tribute.

The Magic 8-Ball was left on the outside looking in again. It was the seventh straight year that the Magic 8-Ball made the final list without making the final cut.

Matchbox cars are inexplicably still not in, and somehow Risk was edged by Clue in the board game genre this year. (Side note: If someone pitched a kid's game of trying to figure out who committed a murder in a rich person's mansion, do you think that gets signed off on in today's PC world? Me neither.)

There are still a lot of fan favorites trying to break through, classics like Connect Four and Uno and many others. Maybe they will have better luck next year.

Or as our Magic 8-Ball said after a good shaking: Outlook appears cloudy.

And a word from each side

A few weeks ago, we included some of the feedback we have received, and a lot of you apparently liked to see it.

Here are a couple more from this week, and again, the names are not included. Enjoy.

"Jay, please get off your simple-minded idea of gun control. Many of us own guns and 99.9% of us aren't running around shooting people. Let's focus on the media and Hollywood, but of course that's a waste of your precious time."

And one more, and of course the first paragraph was meant to be extremely sarcastic.

"Us white folks just want our black football players to play and win for us and keep quiet. Once they quit football we could care less what happens to them. Yessir Boss man, yessir.

"I am a proud Veteran and I'm [bleeping] kneeling if I want to. Screw you conservative hypocrites."

Good talk, friends.

Contact Jay Greeson at jgreeson@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6343.

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