NorthStar Flags

I really hated reunions, that’s why when my friends from way back called, I dilly-dallied hoping that I be excused from the affair. You see, I came from a poor family and even if I’ve graduated from college, I still have reservations co-existing with my rich classmates. Besides what have I accomplished so far and look at myself, I’ve grown a lot and even doubled in weight I will be the butt of jokes during the gathering.

But, duty calls, our class president is gunning for a seat in Congress and all of us must be around to be photographed and project an air of unity. Or maybe I sensed that I could be his spokesman, his alter ego especially towards the poor, me being very accommodating and knowledgeable towards this sector of society.

When I reached the venue, the place was already teeming with supporters and the decor was really patriotic like a small party convention. I saw my batch mates huddled around the makeshift stage with a large custom political party flag as background. My insecurities began showing-up again, if my friend enters Congress, will I still be remembered as his buddy.

As I approached the stage, they were all happy to see me, in fact we hugged as a group just like old times. And just like when we were still in school, we tried to be professional and planned the extent of our friends campaign.

For the next three to four days, we stayed close together and decide on the campaign blueprint to take, the posters to print, the finances to tackle and the sorties that we intend to take.

One busy week makes you feel like your life had been sapped out, not enough energy to even unwind at popular watering holes around the vicinity. So, I just stayed flat on my chair while soft oldies could be heard from the radio. Just like that and I felt sleepy already, and I started for my bed ready to call it quits.

Then Tom Jones took the air lanes, belting out “The Green, Green, Grass of Home,” it hit me, I’ve been away for so long, a trip back home could be the next best thing. I checked on my schedule, a national holiday is coming up and I could call the office that I’m due for a sick leave.

It somehow reinvigorated my senses and I was already busy making reservations for a train trip for the next day and packing up my things. The next morning I woke up early had breakfast and coffee at Starbucks and off to the train station. Here I come, home again after five years.

I might have slept on the trip because I can immediately feel that the station now looms ahead. When I exited from the train station, I twirled around looking for a familiar landmark, the large custom State Flag that normally greets visitors as they come out of the station.

Finding it already non-existent I was sorely disappointed, and I asked the security officer nearby what happened to it. He could not also give a straight answer for he was also new to the area.

Well, what can I expect after five long years, there has got to be some form of development.

Who is the greatest? Certainly when being the greatest is mentioned, Muhammad Ali comes to mind. But, is he really the greatest? Some say he is, but this is still debatable because where will you place Joe Louis, the Brown Bomber who stopped every known opposition in his time. Or Rocky Marciano, the Great White Hope, who did the same feat but whose career was cut short by a freak accident. One thing is sure though, Ali is the most colorful fighter in the history of boxing.

Why would one be called the greatest? What would make one assume greatness? Would winning eight gold medals in an Olympics make one? Then Michael Phelps would classify as the greatest. What would then become of Marc Spitz who won seven gold medals in the 1972 Munich Olympics, a record he held for 36 long years? Or Carl Lewis, who gave the United States recognition and won six gold medals in track and field?

Should Michael Phelps continue on his crusade and win eight or nine more gold medals in the 2012 London Olympics, then his feat would really be hard to duplicate. But for how long will the record stay? He broke Spitz record in 36 years, I’m sure somebody would in the near future. But for now they are the greatest Olympians in their generation.

I’m really happy in the thought that Americans are in the forefront of this quest for greatness. And every time they climb the podium, with the custom American Flag hoisted and claim their medals, it makes me prouder to be American.

Being great is a title nobody can really claim. You can only be the best today because the future belongs to somebody else.

I was watching an Olympic qualifying bout in boxing and I have to stare at the TV screen more intently because I could not identify the country custom flags of the two protagonists. Not even the name of the country was legible enough for they were so small at the upper left hand corner of the screen.

For two rounds the score stood at 6 for the fighter in blue and 0 for red. I’m not very familiar with the scoring system of boxing that’s why without a blink I watched every fighters move. Several punches were given by both fighters but still I can’t figure out how the judges are able to give a point or two.

Midway through the third round, the fighter in red delivered series of combinations that stunned and staggered his opponent, the scoreboard then awarded one point while the referee was giving the mandatory count to the fighter in blue.

Then at the start of the final round, crunching head and body shots sent the fighter in blue sprawling to the canvas and miraculously the electronic scoreboard awarded yet another point. Why only a point? It was a flurry of punches that put the other fighter down. But the outcome was beyond question as the referee had stopped the fight.

I switched off the TV. Disappointed, really disappointed, I still haven’t figured out the scoring system.

Next time I will concentrate on archery and trap shooting at least players get their point based on the number of hits. Or maybe swimming and track and field where the first runners or swimmers to cross the finish line are declared the winners.

My son is the nerdy type with thick glasses, usually keeps to himself, reads a lot, concentrates on his studies, does not seem to be sporty and always had ways with computers and electronic gadgets. So, if you enter his room, it is jungle in here, with all his things found just about anywhere – the floor, the bed, the closet, some are even stamped on the walls.

So, when my son turned ten years old, my wife and I decided to extend his room to provide him with ample space for a work and study area. And to really show my son’s personality on the projected room, we asked him to pick the wallpaper, the carpet, and the decor.

At the home decor hardware, my son requested for one with small prints of the American Flag and because such wallpaper is non-existent he picked blue. Then, he insisted on a red floor carpet and white coarse paint for his ceiling. I don’t know what got into my son’s head as these are patriotic colors – maybe influenced by countless 4th of July parade that we attended.

We thought that was the end of it, but when the room was finished we sneaked in for a look-see, and what greeted us were freshly attached American Flag, college flags , banners on praise banner poles, life size posters of Britney, Paris, Jordin, Usher and Kobe Bryant.

This is our first glimpse into the life, the needs, the inspiration of our aspiring teenage son, we found it weird sometimes but at least we know what direction to take.

And to really bridge the generation gap we started to dig his music and made inroads to see the Lakers in action.

Going through design evolution, each distinct civilization gave us unique distinguishing features. Starting with the Egyptians they had their pyramids, their temples with the hypostyle hall and especially the obelisks suggests their contribution to the development of design.

However, it was the Greeks that laid the foundation for design sophistication, particularly the design proportion of their Tuscan, Doric and Ionic columns including the bas-relief’s on the tympanum all added to the mystic appeal.

The Romans meanwhile refined what the Greeks had and spruced up the development of the dome that had been copied from the Etruscans. The Byzantines that came later improved on the dome and transformed it into the bulbous type much preferred by Islamic Architecture.

And when the Christians of Europe built their large and lofty churches, they devised the use of flying buttress to counter the lateral forces of the domed structures. Then, when the Renaissance era came they repeated the use of classical design all over.

Not until the end of the World Wars that drastic design changes were evident. Owing maybe to the need for large spaces for soldiers returning from the battlefield, designers omitted what is more customary and built massive structures of steel, concrete and glass. Thus the theory “less is more” came into being, making structures practical but devoid of ornaments.

It built into the modern consciousness structures that are plain, simple and ugly. Therefore to divert viewer’s attention to the building’s cubic monstrosity, designers added custom flags, not only country and national flags but flags of all type and design.

Thus, today look at all the structures around you and you will find that the majority uses these flags, literally to hide the ugly truth.

I was trying to separate what is serviceable from what is not from my office closet when I came across an old article titled, “The Ugly Truth.” Even if I’ve read the article countless of times in the past, still it does gave me some more room to be amused and laugh.

What happens when a lawyer failed in his counsel and defense? Then the obvious answer is the defendant is found guilty and lands in jail. Then, what will happen if the doctor fails in his diagnosis? The patient dies and is buried 7 feet under the ground.

In the case of the structural engineer, his failure to conduct thorough evaluation and design computation will result in a collapsed structure even when only subjected to slight tremors, the result – death to the building occupants. And when a painter fails in his work, he can always cover it up with a new coat of paint.

But, when an Architect fails in his design the effect is different altogether. The result would be an ugly piece of Architecture and to divert attention to the monstrosity of the structure, the Architect can always employ the lavish use of flags and get away with his failure.

I am not saying that all buildings and structures that sport flags are ugly and unattractive, but from the looks of it designers of lamentable structures use flags to salvage what is left of their ruined reputation.

On the other hand buildings that are Architectural gems often projects a different aura of sophistication when adorned by roof top mounted flagpoles.

Flags can complement a structure, but it can never hide the ugly truth.

I was trying to separate what is serviceable from what is not from my office closet when I came across an old article titled, “The Ugly Truth.” Even if I’ve read the article countless of times in the past, still it does gave me some more room to be amused and laugh.

What happens when a lawyer failed in his counsel and defense? Then the obvious answer is the defendant is found guilty and lands in jail. Then, what will happen if the doctor fails in his diagnosis? The patient dies and is buried 7 feet under the ground.

In the case of the structural engineer, his failure to conduct thorough evaluation and design computation will result in a collapsed structure even when only subjected to slight tremors, the result – death to the building occupants. And when a painter fails in his work, he can always cover it up with a new coat of paint.

But, when an Architect fails in his design the effect is different altogether. The result would be an ugly piece of Architecture and to divert attention to the monstrosity of the structure, the Architect can always employ the lavish use of flags and get away with his failure.

I am not saying that all buildings and structures that sport flags are ugly and unattractive, but from the looks of it designers of lamentable structures use flags to salvage what is left of their ruined reputation.

On the other hand buildings that are Architectural gems often projects a different aura of sophistication when adorned by roof top mounted flagpoles.

Flags can complement a structure, but it can never hide the ugly truth.

I woke up with a terrible headache in fact I staggered and almost did not make it to the bathroom. Something must be wrong with me, is it sleep deprivation or simply fatigue after days for the preparation of our company float for the 4th of July parade.

I called in sick and the good doctor came and reined me in with sedatives and a few cold medicines that should keep me still within the next 8hours. But before consciousness left me my thoughts were still on the preparation we made for the parade.

We are a small company that sells brewed coffee, much like Starbucks but really smaller in scope. Though we had already expanded to 10 shops, we only cater to areas around downtown Seattle. Even with rain incessantly drenching Seattle, our company managed to meet customer’s needs and for the last five years we have stayed afloat. This year we aim to join to the 4th of July parade, hopefully to advertise more clearly that we are here for good.

To really make a statement, our design crew devised a giant horizontal coffee canister, and then carved out a flat surface at the top to accommodate the huge coffee mug much like the mug we serve our customer’s. Complete with our company name and logo, we used it to sit an actor dressed like Uncle Sam complete with hat.

The general backdrop was a large spoon at the back of the mug and carries a billowing American Flag. While hundreds of company pennant streamers adorn the sides of the float.

Overall, the effect was fascinating, but I won’t be around to enjoy the festivities because I am literally strapped to my bed.

I was drinking coffee at my verandah and was pre-occupied with thoughts about the invasion of Iraq, if it was the catalyst that finally pushed oil to over 100dollars a barrel, will our economic situation ever improve, or what will happen to the USA now that Bush’ term is finally coming to an end, can I trust Obama over McCain to handle the delicate foreign policy protocol?

There are a lot of uncertainties, what ifs, then I stood up to get a glass of water when my eye caught sight of my neighbors American Flag and pole. Then my thought shifted, what if flags were not used, what other forms of patriotic symbols could have evolved.

I must be really getting old, imagine subjects like this already bugging me. But on second thoughts, do you know that we are a flag crazy nation? I read from the statistics recently that as much as 75% of Americans wave flags, making us number one around the world.

Unbelievable, but that is the truth? In my experience I would say that flags have a special place in my heart, I find it empty if flags and banners are not included in celebrations.

Just like the 4th of July we wave flags; when we cheer for our favorite teams we wave flags; when we altered our office interior decor we included the flag; when we go to church the pulpit has it; even when we devised a new landscaping scheme for our garden as always we include lighting for flagpoles and garden flags.

We can’t seem to live without it (flags), don’t you think the statistics is right after all?