Taking Back the Flag

My flag pole arrived in a ten-foot-long box. The two flags have been spread out on my couch, getting de-wrinkled. And I have been reading up on how to install the whole thing. Easy-peasy was the predominant theme.

Fortified with coffee and confidence, I went to ACE Hardware to pick up the cement and buy a shovel. And a hose since the ground is already like cement unless it is wet when it becomes a muddy mess.

ACE always has the nicest staff. “Can I help you with anything?” asked an old guy dressed in a red and black bib-like thing the second my foot crossed the threshold.

“I’m looking for cement.” I was still feeling confident at this point.

“How much do you need?”

Good question, I thought. “A bag, I think.”

“That’s not much. What are you trying to do?”

“Put in a flagpole.”

“How tall?”

“25 feet.” That was more of a guess than a certainty.

Old guy started to walk towards the back of the store. “You’ll need five bags. Do you have gloves?”

I shook my head. He grabbed a pair as we turned into the cement aisle. “It’s ready-made, right? You don’t need anything else.”

“A forklift, maybe,” he said with a wink. “I’m 72 years old and I find that they’re getting too heavy for me.”

Old guy is younger than me, was my first reaction. Panic was my second. But, long story short, they loaded 250 pounds worth of cement into my car, along with a wheelbarrow, a trowel, a shovel, a pickax, a hose, and a pair of gloves. They threw in a dying tomato plant because I made their day. I didn’t ask for clarification.

When I got home, ML and Ryan were right there ready to help. Pen was off talking to lawyers about her siblings, so she was doing her own heavy lifting. 

Digging the hole was the worst of it. Even taking shifts, using water, and swearing every filthy word we could think of, it took us three hours to dig a 24 x 24-inch hole. Of course, margaritas were involved, which meant one of us had to go to the store to get some fresh limes. And one of us had to monitor various YouTube advisors. So we weren't exactly an efficient machine. But we did manage to get the flag stand secured into a hole full of cement by nightfall. I went to bed without even considering dinner and didn’t wake up until well past dawn. But by margarita time that evening, our flags were up and the four of us were celebrating.