A flag for the Fourth

A lot my flag images were usually captured at the Fort Bliss National Cemetery on Memorial Day. However, there are a couple of flags I discovered while driving around or walking in the Sunset Heights neighborhood near UTEP. I first found this window covering over ten years ago when I used to volunteer for the El Paso County Historical Society. Walking around the multi-layered yard, I finally made it to the back rock wall and peered over to see this flag. On this day I had my Holga and quickly snapped the picture. I'm glad I did because the next time I looked over the fence, it was gone. Perhaps patriotic window coverings last as long as like a sun shower in this town. Or maybe the owner found a better crib.

Current Conditions: Fort Bliss National Cemetery

Current Conditions: Fort Bliss National Cemetery
Originally uploaded by chacal la chaise.

While I will always try to enter photos for this blog that show the area in a positive, or at least interesting light, there are times when that is not possible.

Over the past few years, the Fort Bliss National Cemetery has been slated for a xeriscape project, which was begun about 18 months ago. However, the project has now literally sunk to new levels. Rains have sunk and damaged at least 400 graves and the entire 66 acres are nothing but a brown sludgy mess. If headstones are not slipping down (along with the entire grave), then they are splattered with a dirty brown coat of mud. Unless corrective action (fire the director and replant the grass) occurs soon, damage will continue until either the grass is returned, or it stops raining.

Officials with the cemetery maintain that the cemetery sits upon ground that, when combined with the rains, turned the ground into a slurry that allowed the graves and headstones to sink. In the meantime, representatives and senators are investigating this mess and I hope we will see a "regime change" soon.