I am the only one on my block with the American flag waving proudly. The first thing I do when I move into a new house is to put the flag out. The second thing is to plant a cherry tree. I would hang an American bald eagle over the doorway but I haven’t found a suitable one yet.

I get this habit from my father. I love seeing the flag waving in the wind. I love listening to it flap in the wind. I love what the flag represents, good and bad. I suspect the cherry tree tradition is also a patriotic tradition on my father’s part but for me it represents my home. I have had a cherry tree in the front yard of every house I have ever lived in. Ever. I went to the big box hardware store today to look for a cherry tree. I moved in too late last year and was not able to find one. I found a few and they looked pretty good and were fairly inexpensive. I didn’t have my truck with me and would be unable to get it home unless I put it on the roof of the car and I didn’t want to do that since I still haven’t fixed the damage from the angry birch tree. Which really doesn’t make any sense since the damage has already been done, but I didn’t.

I’m surprised that I am the only one on the block with a flag. I know a lot of us hate the war but does that mean we don’t love our country? Does flying my flag peg me as a supporter of the war? I don’t know, I don’t really care. I don’t know when flag day is, I should I suppose but since my flag is already out I don’t need to worry about missing it, I do remember a time not too long ago when everyone flew their flag. The house without a flag was the anomaly and not the norm. What has happened?