How many flags could a woodchuck steal if a woodchuck could ……

I arrived in Colombia County, New York a few days before the 4th and most nights my daughter, her husband and I would listen to the news. One of the main stories locally was the mystery of the missing flags from a Hudson cemetery.

Every year local veterans groups place American flags in front of the tombstones of Civil War Veterans in the cemetery and this year many of them had been stolen. Who would be so unpatriotic and brazen as to steal these flags right off the graves? Even if it were kids, it was unforgivable and a downright shame. The reporters telling the story and the public at large were aghast at such insensitivity.

The local police were baffled too and took the case seriously. They offered a $500 reward for any information leading to the capture of the criminal (or criminals) and placed motion sensors at strategic points in the cemetery.

Imagine their surprise when they played the film back and found their villain to be none other than a WOODCHUCK ! This wiley little guy was seen to pull the flag down and drag it away in his teeth. Evidently the manufacturer of the flags uses a substance that, although meant to lengthen the life of the flag, proved to be irresistible to the “perp”.

So, despite the desecration of a Civil War cemetery a mystery was solved … a “criminal” apprehended … and a good chuckle was had by all !