I put this flag on my car shortly after that terrible day. As the days and weeks went by it became more and more tattered and yet, I could not bring myself to take it off the car. It seemed dishonoring to those who had perished to casually remove it. One day I'd stopped at a traffic light and a woman pulled up in the lane next to me. She honked her horn and yelled through the window, "That's a disgrace to your country!" I had not thought of it that way but I'm sure she didn't know that one of my seminary classmates was going without sleep in order to help with the recovery. That others had lost family members when the towers came down. That a branch of our school was not too far from Ground Zero and several students there just missed being caught in the calamity. She did not know that I couldn't take it off until the story seemed to be over or some sort of resolution came to pass. And yet, I realized that for her generation, those who lived through WWII, a sight like this brought an even stronger reaction. This flag was a source of pride and deserved great care. So when I got home, I did take it off. But I didn't throw it away. I keep it by the computer...to remember, to never forget, to pay tribute.
Shoot 4 September word: Remember (The Anniversary of 9/11)
I think this is a marvellous thing to do and admire you for doing it! You can't explain things to passers by which probably makes you mad but your tribute is your pride!
@ikamera Thank you Kiran! I am finding myself more intentional with some shots thanks to the photography book I read last month. I really thought about this one and what I wanted to draw out of the shot. Sepia and vintage processing was the way to go. Thanks for the thoughtful comment!
A touching story. A nice tribute by you. It is a quandry as to when to remove a well-loved and worn flag, especially one that was placed there for such a worthy tribute. Well done.
Thank you so much to each and every one of you- Kerri, Brian, Samantha, Timothy, Nicole, Sally, Yao, Dione, Rick, Claire, Henri, Frank, Wendy, Jennifer, Laraine and Kathryn! I deeply appreciate your kind words.
Nice shot, Ann... great tribute. I have flags on the windows of my home. They are very faded but still you can see they are flags. I had one in the window of my car, but it went with the car when it got totaled. I love your write up. It's quite poignant. Very thoughtful. I too will always remember and never will forget.
Beautiful story, Ann and a most poignant tribute. That lady sure was nervy to shout at you like that, not knowing the whole story. I still have the sticker on the rear window of my car that I placed the day after 9-11. I put it on 365 two years ago.
@prttblues Thank you Bev and thank you so much for the fav! @cimes1 Thank you Carole! At first I was startled by her fierceness. But then I tried looking at the situation through her eyes and it made more sense. lol the NY metro area (NY, NJ and CT) is known for brassy people who speak their minds!
What a wonderful tribute shot and story! Interesting how two people have such different reactions to the same things. You were so perceptive to understand where she was coming from. When I was a kid, the Boy Scouts collected tattered flags once a year and burned them respectfully.
@mzzhope Thank you Hope!
@maggiemae Thank you Maggie!
Thank you so much to each and every one of you- Kerri, Brian, Samantha, Timothy, Nicole, Sally, Yao, Dione, Rick, Claire, Henri, Frank, Wendy, Jennifer, Laraine and Kathryn! I deeply appreciate your kind words.
Smitha, Wendy and Henri, thank you so much for your favs. I am honored!
@cimes1 Thank you Carole! At first I was startled by her fierceness. But then I tried looking at the situation through her eyes and it made more sense. lol the NY metro area (NY, NJ and CT) is known for brassy people who speak their minds!