I Pledge Allegiance … to The Cafeteria

Each Highland Park school board meeting starts with the Pledge of Allegiance and the Texas Pledge of Allegiance. But some of these meetings, including last night’s, begin with a reception in the HPMS/MIS cafeteria to honor achieving students.

When school board president Leslie Melson asked everyone to recite the pledge, we all turned 360 degrees in search of a U.S. flag. Alas, there was none. (Superintendent Dawson Orr later said this was due to maintenance manager Jon Polando being at the simultaneous UP Planning & Zoning Commission meeting for a discussion of adding lights to the HPHS softball field.)

Melson improvised and asked everyone to face the cafeteria’s east wall, which is predominantly red and blue (Hey, two out of three ain’t bad) and sports a yellow neon sign that says “Lone Star Cafe.” She joked that the sign made the wall an even better substitute for the Texas flag. Per usual, only a few people recited the Texas pledge from memory, while the rest of us murmured along through our failed smiles.

By Dan Koller Apr. 13, 2011 | 8:35 am | 7 Comments | Comments RSS
7 comments to "I Pledge Allegiance ... to The Cafeteria"
  1. Neal @ April 13, 2011 at 1:36 pm
    Ugh. This Texas pledge business is beyond stupid. Wasn’t it invented by the Legislature a few years ago so they – and Perry – could prove how much they love Texas or something?

    UPDATE: Yes.

  2. Sharpay @ April 13, 2011 at 2:42 pm
    This native Texan think it’s wierd and over the top. Even wierder is the hand gesture that accompanies it. What is it supposed to symbolize?

  3. Taylor @ April 13, 2011 at 3:39 pm
    I remember saying it all the way back to elementary school (I’m 31 now). This updated version throws me off everytime I hear it.

  4. 1635 @ April 13, 2011 at 4:39 pm
    I agree Neal – “ugh.” I cringe every time I hear it. And I’m a 5th generation Texan . . . .

  5. Mavenmere @ April 13, 2011 at 8:38 pm
    The whole thing was almost sacriligous. Pledging allegiance to the Lone Star Cafe neon lit star? Are you kidding me right now? I was mortified to be honest. Sure, I put my hand over my heart and then held it out like I was holding a platter (whatever) but the whole this was in poor taste. Just saying….

  6. mainzer @ April 13, 2011 at 8:55 pm
    I am a native Texan and I had never even heard of a Texas pledge until my kids started HP schools. I also graduated from HP. We did not say it at Armstrong when I attended in the 60′s.

  7. M @ April 14, 2011 at 1:42 pm
    C’mon y’all–we’ll need it when we secede. (tongue firmly planted in cheek).

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