I went to Dallas Fort Worth National Cemetery today, to visit my father's resting place. While standing there at my father's place, I was looking around at all the flags and such that were placed at some of the other stones... those little flags with the wooden poles you often see at veteran's grave sites. Well I noticed some of them, the flags had come loose from the wood and were barely hanging on by one corner. It was just bothering me... these men and women, soldiers, marines, sailors, their flags should be waving proud. And I'm sure whoever placed the flags would want the same. I asked a couple family members if they had some tape, but nobody had anything. Who really carries tape around with them, right? I find myself looking down at my clothing for a loose string, at my belt for a strip of leather I can pull off, anything that might help. Shoe strings would have helped, but I was wearing boots and I wasn't about to ask someone else to give up their shoe laces. And just about to give up, I looked back toward the car, parked just a ways off and it dawned on me... I had some pipe cleaners in my bag, churchwarden length because I had brought a meer that is too long for regular pipe cleaners. So I walked down and grabbed a few cleaners, and made my way to the first flag I had noticed. Holding the top corner of that flag back to the wood, I wrapped the cleaner around it nice and tight. Happy that it worked, I moved on and continued. After I was finished I went back to my father's place for a few more minutes, and then rejoined the rest of the family. This was my first time back to the cemetery since my father was laid to rest in January. Too long, I know. I miss him.
