deliriouslove1970. The life & times of Gary and Denise Flanders. (Free and worth every penny. If you would like to compliment the editor, send to garytheflan@deliriouslove1970.com. If you would like to complain, call your mother.)

The largest state, by area, in the United States: Alaska. The US ‘purchased’ the territory from Russia in 1867 for $7.2 million (2 cents per acre). Of course it had been the home of indigenous people for thousands of years. Proportionally it has the highest indigenous population in the country. Alaska is larger than Texas, California and Montana combined.

The flag consists of 8 stars (forming the Big Dipper and Polaris) on a dark blue field. It has a wonderful design story. In 1927 The American Legion held a contest to create a flag for the Alaska territory. It was open to 12 to 18 year olds. The winner was Benny Benson, a 13 year old boy living in an orphanage in Seward. He said every night he would lay in his bed and look up at the sky to find the Big Dipper and the Northern Star. He put it on a dark blue background to represent the territory flower: The Forget Me Not. As winner of the contest, he received $1,000 and an engraved watch.

The North American Vexillological Association [NAVA] rates the flag as the 5th best in the US and Canada. I give it an A+ and consider it the second best flag in the US. (Number one? New Mexico.)