Best Patriotic Pitch

One woman tries to restore the nation's respect for our country's National Anthem and what it stands for.

More on:

• Inspiring Stories
• Iraq War

Dayna Steele loves watching great sporting events. But a few years ago, when the 48-year-old media consultant attended a Houston Comets women's basketball game and stood at attention for "The Star-Spangled Banner," her enjoyment was interrupted by oblivious fellow fans chatting and guzzling beer.

She recalled a story that her friend H. C. Thomas, a civilian contractor in Iraq, had told her about a Jamaican national who always choked up at the sound of the American anthem. "He said how lucky we are that so many have given their lives to protect our freedom." Recruiting Thomas's help, she hatched a plan in which U.S. servicemen in Iraq would videotape a "pro-anthem" message. Her website, operationnationalanthem.com, now offers the videos free for use before any public event in which the anthem will be played. Their effort is a tribute both to their military fathers and "to all those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our great nation," Thomas says.

From Reader's Digest - May 2008

 

• Best Inspiration
• A group of HIV-infected children halfway around the world inspire a woman to make a difference.
• 
• Best Rare Books
• An international hiking trip turns into an act of good will.
• 
• Best Change Agent
• Putting your change in these parking meters may help change someone's life.
• 
• Best Headlines
• These outrageous headlines made us look twice.
• 
• Best Win for Democracy
• Americans are experiencing a newfound enthusiasm for politics.
• 
• Best Light Touch
• These teens had a bright idea to save electricity.
• 
• Best Petal Pusher
• Flower-power is key in the makeover of a neglected Kansas City street.
• 
• Best Caregiver
• When serious illness strikes the children of single parents, this foundation eases some of the pain.
• 
• Best Deal on Wheels
• These low income job seekers find out that transportation can make or break their chances at employment.
• 

The investment management firm where I worked had just moved into new offices, and the place was overflowing with gifts of large plants, mostly huge Boston ferns. Amid this jungle, I was showing off underwater photographs of sea life from a recent scuba-diving trip. Just then a senior member of the firm looked over my shoulder and asked, "Are those anemones?" "Of course not," I replied. Then, pointing to the plants around us, I quipped, "With ferns like these, who needs anemones?"

-- David A. Conary

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