I was in the stands at the stadium when the Arizona Diamondback’s contested—and ultimately defeated—the New York Yankees in the 2001 World Series.
Prior to the game, before an audience of many thousands of baseball fans, Mr, Ray Charles sang “America the Beautiful.” When he sang, my daughter and I cried, thrilled by the soul of the magnificent American patriot Ray Charles.
When Ray closed the song, the fans cheered for at least 15 minutes. In the You Tube link below, you can see the character of Mr. Charles, one of America’s greatest singers of the blues. I, a lifelong professional musician, consider Ray Charles to be a musical legend, and a wonderful human being. Being at the stadium that day is one of the greatest thrills of my life.
I was also thrilled by the Diamondbacks winning of the World Series, but above all, being in the presence of Ray Charles singing America the Beautiful virtually put me in Heaven: “America, America, God amend thy every flaw. Confirm thy soul in self control, thy liberty in law.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OTRRzSuWro
p.s I wrote this to accompany Bryan Fischer’s excellent, but very sad, piece on the contempt shown by the NFL players and teams for our Flag. God help America.
Frank Maguire
Arizona City Arizona
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