What a bummer that he was so cranky. It looks very patriotic to me and would have looked beautiful on my wall. I think you did an excellent job by the way. Sometimes older people can be harsh and have no clue that they are being so mean spoken. I get this from my mom all the time. She is 90 and is forever telling me how my body was ruined when I had kids. And she says it infront of everyone like its no big deal. I say, pat yourself on the back it really is a very nice wall hanging.