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 People’s Republic of China. Beyond any political or governmental tensions, I fly the flag to demonstrate our love for the Chinese People. Five years ago right now we were in Beijing with our beloved daughters.

The flag was another contest sponsored by a committee. After a culture and history of thousands of years, in 1949 the People’s Republic was formed. Zeng Liansong a man from Wenzhou submitted his design to show his patriotic enthusiasm for his ‘new’ country. He said his inspiration was looking at the stars in the night sky. He remembered a Chinese Proverb ‘Longing for the stars, longing for the moon.’

There is some controversy concerning the symbolism of the stars. For certain the main large star is the Chinese people (the designer said for the ‘yellow people’.) Speculation about the 4 smaller stars often settles on a speech given by the new leader, Mao. He Outlined his vision about the 4 classes of people: The working class; The peasantry; The urban bourgeoisie; and The National bourgeoisie.

There were a number of rejected flags

Our trip of a lifetime to mainland China was by special invite from ‘our Chinese kids’. We hosted international students who were attending The University of Denver. All of them implored us to come see their homeland. We had instant translators and tour guides for 3 weeks in that amazing place.

Isn’t it interesting that if you stop thinking of ‘us and them’ and get to know people, you feel how we are all the same. And with love, there are no boarders.