Turns Out...We Just Needed A Taller Flag Pole

 Last month we were given a gift...a US flag to fly in front of our house. Now, we already had a flag. I made it a few years ago from a steel pole and an inexpensive flag that came in a kit, the kind of kit you mount on your wall.

I tossed the pole that came with the kit and just used the flag.

The flag my mom-in-law gave us had a taller pole, taller than ours. We received it because the wind blew her flag over and we have a somewhat sheltered location for our flag...away from direct winds.

I'm glad for the gift. For one reason, we couldn't see the flag out of our front window because it was too short and the lower flag used to hit people in the face when they visited. Maybe that's why we have so few visitors, but on the plus side--door-to-door salespeople. 

I set up the flag and even though it's not in a windy location, the PVC pipe swayed a lot in the wind. Solution--put the metal pole I used inside the pipe. Problem solved.

Today was the first time I flew my Franken-flag. It worked well. Turns out we just needed a taller flag pole. 

Juneteenth 2022...

Yesterday, we flew the flag in observance of Juneteenth. Because I work for a government entity, I had the day off. I believe the official Juneteenth fell on Sunday, the 19th, so they gave us the next day off. I'll be the first to admit I do not know much about the holiday. My understanding is the term Juneteenth comes from an event that took place in Texas when troops notified the state that all slaves were made free when the Emancipation Proclamation was signed.

That document was signed two and a half years before the troops arrived.

We celebrate and honor many events. Remembering the anniversary when humans were acknowledged to have the same rights as everyone else is certainly a reason to take time to remember.

Because it was a day off, I stayed off of social media (for the most part...) throughout the day. I'm glad I did. You see, for me, putting out the flag and remembering that even though our country has many scares from past mistakes, there was a time when incredible news changed the lives of generations of Americans. If I had spent a lot of time on social media, I would have been inundated by options, both for and against, the holiday, opinions not to persuade, but for expression. 

I'm glad there are outlets for people to express their opinions, and I'm glad I didn't allow those to opinions to taint the day for me. I wanted to keep and honor the day my own way. I was happy to celebrate for me an incredible event in our nation's history...one of many.

Flag = $13, Pole = $6...Take That, $80 Flag!

I woke this morning with a thought rolling around in my head. Because today is Memorial Day, I wanted to go out and buy a flag. We do not have a nice flag pole like many of my neighbors so I thought about buying one of those kits you hang on the side of your house or stick in the ground in front of your house.

As the morning progressed, the thought of getting a flag failed to leave my brain, so around 11am, my wife and I hopped in Donk, the Subaru to see if any of our local stores were open on this holiday Monday. Turns out, many of them were.

At our first stop, Store #1 had two options...a 5' x 3' flag for $13, and the same flag with a pole to attach to the side of the house for $18. The pole and house attachment were pretty flimsy, and considering the wind we get up here, I felt it was inadequate, not to mention I didn't really want to drill the attachment to our house.

We went to Store #2.

The first thing we saw was a flag kit, complete with a stronger, thicker pole and a higher quality flag. The attachment was also more heavy-duty. It seemed perfect...

Until we spotted the price.

Eighty bucks.

Don't get me wrong. I don't mean to diss the $18 flag for its somewhat wimpy construction, or the $80 flag for its superior construction and quality. No...my issue is what's in the wallet. As we searched the store for other flag options at Store #2 (they had none...), I spotted an eight-foot pole. It's made for marking fields and the like. Still, I saw how sturdy it was and felt it would make a more than adequate flag pole. Since Store #2 did not have any other flag options, we drove back to Store #1 and bought the $13 flag. It took some doing, but I was able to attach the flag to the pole and after I buried a piece of PVC pipe in the front yard, I stuck the flag pole with flag attached into the pipe and declared that we were once again, a flag-flying family.

At our last house, we had an excellent way to fly the flag 24/7. Here...it could be done, but it doesn't work as well. I'm glad we now have a way to fly the flag on holidays, especially on a day like today where the flag and the day mean so much. Happy Memorial Day, everyone!