My husband sold this flag to his parents as part of a Cub Scout fundraiser. Seeing as he's now 59, it's likely that this flag has seen half a century of service.
It's not a fancy flag. Its stars and stripes are printed on fabric that is wearing a little thin. Over the years it has become stained from dust and rain-marked when I didn't haul it in fast enough. Some of its edges are fraying.
When I was running with Team RWB some years ago, the flag would come along with me. I started leaving it behind when some of the Veterans hinted that it had seen better days, and perhaps it should be retired.
Last year I bought a replacement flag. It is better in many ways. Its stars and stripes are sewn on, not printed. The fabric is stronger, the colors brighter. I laid it out on the counter, expecting my husband to take the old flag off the pole and put the new one on. He didn't.
Finally, this year for Flag Day I swapped the two flag myself. I folded the old one up and placed it on my husband's dresser. I suggested to him that we should hand it off to the Boy Scouts, so they could retire it.
If you've ever been to a Flag Retirement Ceremony, it is an awesome and dignified event in which old flags are burned. The thought of burning this flag, which my husband had flown for so many Independence Days and Veteran's Days, was too much for him. My husband may be strong, but he is also sentimental.
And so this flag will go into the hope chest. It will rest beside the baptismal gowns and homemade quilts, and someday one of my grandchildren may pull it out and wonder why we were so attached to what has become, after fifty years of service, a grand old rag.
It's not a fancy flag. Its stars and stripes are printed on fabric that is wearing a little thin. Over the years it has become stained from dust and rain-marked when I didn't haul it in fast enough. Some of its edges are fraying.
When I was running with Team RWB some years ago, the flag would come along with me. I started leaving it behind when some of the Veterans hinted that it had seen better days, and perhaps it should be retired.
Last year I bought a replacement flag. It is better in many ways. Its stars and stripes are sewn on, not printed. The fabric is stronger, the colors brighter. I laid it out on the counter, expecting my husband to take the old flag off the pole and put the new one on. He didn't.
Finally, this year for Flag Day I swapped the two flag myself. I folded the old one up and placed it on my husband's dresser. I suggested to him that we should hand it off to the Boy Scouts, so they could retire it.
If you've ever been to a Flag Retirement Ceremony, it is an awesome and dignified event in which old flags are burned. The thought of burning this flag, which my husband had flown for so many Independence Days and Veteran's Days, was too much for him. My husband may be strong, but he is also sentimental.
And so this flag will go into the hope chest. It will rest beside the baptismal gowns and homemade quilts, and someday one of my grandchildren may pull it out and wonder why we were so attached to what has become, after fifty years of service, a grand old rag.
