OLD GLORY. The flag of the United States of America. Fondness for the Red, White, and Blue runs deep here at Tucker Paving, Inc.

We love to see our flag fly high atop a pole and flap in the breeze with a sky of deep blue serving as a backdrop. We’re happy and proud to see it brought out for parades, to see veterans and active-duty military personnel salute it, and to see and hear Americans from all walks of life pledge allegiance to it.

It hurts to the core to see our flag disrespected, to see it worn unflatteringly as an article of clothing, to see it fly tattered and faded, to see it spat upon and stomped on the ground, and to see it burned scornfully and unmercifully at home as well as abroad.

We’re glad that the all the patriotic holidays provide nice opportunities for folks to fly Old Glory from home, and we encourage everyone to do just that. The next perfect-for-flag-flying event is, appropriately, Flag Day, which happens each year on June 14. After that, of course, there’s the Fourth of July.

Why is June 14 set aside for Flag Day? The observance commemorates the adoption of the Stars and Stripes flag of the United States by the Second Continental Congress on June 14, 1777.

Here are some more interesting things we can learn about the U.S. flag and Flag Day, courtesy of the Wheels for Wishes organization and its website, www.wheelsforwhishes.org:

• For a while, the U.S. added stripes and stars to the flag when welcoming new states. At one point, the flag has 15 stripes and 15 stars. As the country continued to add new states, the government decided to go back to the 13 stripes for the original 13 colonies.

• The colors of the flag have important meanings. Red symbolizes hardiness and valor, white symbolizes purity and innocence, and blue represents vigilance, perseverance and justice.

• The first Flag Day observance was on June 14, 1885, when 19-year-old school teacher Bernard J. Cigrand placed a 38-inch star flag in a bottle on his desk. He assigned essays about the flag and its significance.

• On May 30, 1916, President Woodrow Wilson issued a presidential proclamation establishing Flag Day as the anniversary of the Flag Resolution.

• On Aug. 3, 1949, President Harry Truman signed an act of Congress that would designate June 14 of each year as national Flag Day.

• When the flag no longer can be repaired or used, it must be destroyed in a dignified matter, such as by burning.

If you don’t have a U.S. flag to fly on patriotic holidays, or if you need to replace one that’s torn and/or faded, good sources include Walmart, The Home Depot, and Lowe’s Home Improvement. It shouldn’t have to be said, but we recommend getting a flag made in the good ol’ USA. Sadly, many of the U.S. flags sold here aren’t made here. In Florida (and in 13 other states) the purchase of a U.S. flag is exempt from state sales tax.

Old Glory. The flag of the United States of America. Long may she wave — o’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.