Cord Byrd: “today, on June 20, 2000, the 35th star on the American flag--the star on the third row up from the bottom, second from…”

“today, on June 20, 2000, the 35th star on the American flag--the star on the third row up from the bottom, second from the left--glows just a little bit brighter than the rest, at least for me and my fellow West Virginians. For today is the 137th anniversary of West Virginia's statehood in 1863. And like the star, I think that I, too, glow just a bit with pride, basking in the reflected beauty of my home State of West Virginia. I am especially glad that West Virginia's birthday falls in June. While every month has its special joys, June is an exceptionally beautiful month in West Virginia, full of wildflowers and birdsong, of neat gardens laid out in orderly rows, of trees still fresh and richly green. June is a month of optimism, of outdoor weddings and picnics, of fresh corn still just a promise on the stalk, of children learning to fish along quiet streams, and of knobby-kneed colts and calves peeking shyly from between their mother's legs in meadows lush with grass. June is a month for celebrating.”