Throw a Flag on That!

If you have read any of my blogs you know what a fan I am of proper planning.  I am also a huge fan of planning gone bad, with good intentions, but just for a good laugh.  It happens every day.  Yesterday as I was filling my car with gas I noticed a sign above the pump that says Americans waste 700,000 gallons of gas every year because of under-inflated tires. The sign goes on to say that in response to this crisis Exxon/Mobil has developed a product to put into tires to prolong the life of the tire pressure.  I have many issues with this. First of all, the company that sells the gas is telling us they are trying to get us to use less.  There is the first flag.  Not a good business plan, but someone was smart. They figure what better way to help us than to offer another product we can buy from them that will help to save us from buying less of the product we are already buying.  Follow me so far? Probably not. Right about now you are probably thinking this is way too much ranting and not enough interesting which equals boring. I agree. So really as I saw the sign about wasting gas because tire pressure is too low I immediately looked at my tires.  Then I looked around the pump. It seems years ago gas stations had air lines right there at the pump to keep your tires full.  I wonder who made that decision to take the free air away from the pumps, leaving us with under-inflated tires to buy more gas.  Some stations have moved the air next to the vacuum, and for .75 if you act as fast as a NASCAR pit crew you can fill all your tires before the money runs out. Throw a flag on that.
But speaking of flags, we recently put up a flag pole, complete with an American flag on our church property.  A bunch of well-intended veterans pushed for this, and being a veteran myself, I wound up on the committee to make it happen.  My favorite suggestion during those meetings came from one of our more vocal military retiree parishioners.  While discussing the "ceremony" which was to take place on the sunday following Veteran's day, he wondered who we could get to play taps while they put the flag up.  A real bugle player? One of our band members?  I was staying away from this one until they looked at me, the music director, and asked "can you arrange for someone to play taps?"  I looked at all the 20+ years of service to our country people sitting with me and thought, I am thankful for their service and dedication, but didn't you ever go to a flag raising? "Taps is for funerals and taking the flag down at night" I said.  "Maybe even Memorial Day, but as sure as John McCain won't come to our ceremony," (yes that was another suggestion...to ask him by email to come), "we won't be playing taps to put a flag up."  I didn't ask for a moment of silence, but it was a nice touch. As a mere 8 year veteran of the Navy, I suddenly felt like a 30 year military hero in front of these well-intended retired heroes.
The flag went up on Veteran's Day, so it was there already raised for that Sunday. We said a short blessing from the prayer book after our normal services.  We ate lunch.  Everyone was happy.