The Flag Saga

Over the past few months, a problem developed with the American flag flying in front of the National Weather Service building. I suppose one with experience raising/lowering a flag may be the only one that notices these things, as no one in the office noticed it until I informed them of it. I even informed some veterans that work at the office about it, and they agreed a great problem existed. "We must replace the whole flagpole", stated one veteran. I then began to investigate...

First, I noticed it was a much newer, and more expansive flag. I lowered the flag and to my absolute shock, someone had installed an extremely small rope-climbing clip to the bottom of the flag in an attempt to hold the flag in its place. What a travesty!, I thought to myself. The clip was the culprit... But who installed it? My investigation continued...

After questioning the veterans, I found that one of their lot from a distant office may have installed it or knew how to rectify the problem. Knowing this person only visits once every few months, I took the matter to........D&B Supply (a seller of these "rope climbing" clips). After a short search, I found a much larger clip to install on the flag.

The next day, I considered myself victorious as I sauntered up to the flagpole to replace "the culprit." The new one was too enormous. Back to D&B Supply where I bought a slightly smaller one. The next day, this one worked...but it was not heavy enough to hold the flag down during the prevalent windy conditions. I left the new clip on the flag and quickly drove back to D&B Supply where I purchased the same size clip. There are now 2 flag clips holding the bottom of the flag and now the victorious flag repair Meteorologist can now watch with honor as "Ole' Glory" waves beautifully in the spring time breeze, and a Oregon National Guard Chinook helicopter lands on the nearby airport tarmac (a story for another day).

The End



A picture of the Chinook

God bless you, pray for our armed forces (including the Commander-in-Chief), and enjoy the early spring (late winter in some places) weather....