That Forgotten Folded Flag

And there it was. Somewhat metaphoric. Someone’s life….Someone’s service to our country.

Phillip passes a donation bin on his way to work everyday. It’s solidly in the middle of the parking lot in the plaza. And sometimes things don’t make it into the bin, they just end up around it. That’s when Phillip will come home with some of the most interesting things….the things that are shattered, scattered about, things that didn’t make it into the bin….maybe because someone just didn’t care. They just wanted to be rid of whatever it was.

He found this folded flag in a ziplock bag, just haphazardly tossed towards the donation box, but whomever decided to dispose of it didn’t seem to care enough. It ended up on asphalt, on a paved road, seemingly an after thought.

Phillip was quick to rescue it, with all the beautiful angles of kind thought. Who was this given to? What happened to them that would cause someone to say that this folded flag should be tossed away? Who were they? Why were they given it? What contribution did they make that they would be honored with a folded flag? And more importantly, who decided that this flag should be preserved in a plastic bag, preserved for all time possible? And who decided that this flag should be thrown away with the carelessness of just throwing it at the donation bin, rather than in it?

Someone’s story is here, and we’re proud to keep it, find a frame for it, proudly display it on a wall. And we will never unfold it, for that folded flag is a reminder of valor.

Someone’s story is here, in our home, not forgotten, but kept alive every time we see it. We don’t know what that story is, but that forgotten, tossed flag reminds Phillip and I of so many (so many!) of those that served, gave their lives, and are often forgotten on this Memorial Day.