The problem with being interested in a lot of things, is that you don’t usually have time for everything that you’re interested in. Work especially takes up a lot of time for most people. Now that I’m retired, I have loads more time, but not enough money.

Such is life.

One interest of mine has been flags. Yes, the kind you put on a flag pole and hoist up for all to see, or hang on the wall; the kind every nation has. I’m not alone in that, fortunately, as there’s the North American Vexillological Association that studies flags and flag design. I’m not a member or anything, as my interest doesn’t go deep enough to want to study them. I’m just glad to know such a group exists, so that I know I’m not alone in this particular madness. So while I don’t study flags per se, I just like them, if they’re well-designed. Where “well-designed” is defined as “I like them”, which is self-serving, but then this entire blog is self-serving, isn’t it?

Back in the time of lore when I actually owned my own house, said house had a deck off the second story in the back. I placed a flagpole holder on the outside of the railing, and routinely flew the U.S. flag on good days. I liked to look out at it flying against the sky; my home was on a hill, so it was actually flying against the open sky if the wind was blowing. I would also fly other flags on appropriate days, such as the Betsy Ross style U.S. flag from the American Revolution period on Independence Day. I would fly the flag of the state I lived in on that state’s date of admission to the Union. (The flagpole I had only had room for one flag, so I couldn’t fly more than one at a time.)

I thought about getting a POW/MIA flag to fly on National POW/MIA Recognition Day, but not having any family members in the military at the time, it seemed like a presumption on my part, so I didn’t. There were other flags associated with other days, but it started to seem like way too much bother to keep track of, so I didn’t go any further.

When I moved from that house, it was to an apartment, so I gave the flags I had to a family member. I believe they were sold at a garage sale. Thus do the items we have some connection with scatter across space and time.

I don’t have anywhere to fly a flag these days, really. Just as well, since it’s not a hobby I can really afford these days. Still interesting though.