The flag raisings
When the flag was raised to the top of the pole, this morning, I was there. Both times. My real job for today was to assist in the orderly parking of cars at a museum site. I dressed the role: a yellow security vest, sunglasses, a baseball cap. For those that know me, this was not my traditional garb. However, when parking cars, it’s best to stand out, given that drivers do not look at you unless you either put yourself in harm’s way, or they are well and truly lost.
But back to the flag. I happened to notice that the flag was tangled in the lanyard at the bottom of the whole affair, and ever the technician, I took it upon myself to untangle and raise the nylon banner back up into plain sight. It wasn’t my fault that there was a scheduled ceremonial raising, due to take place in another two minutes… I lowered it, forthwith, and then stood by sheepishly while the preparations were made for a photo of the “real” effort. Call it an “oops” moment, or call it the best of intentions.
My two hours of motioning cars into empty spaces was, otherwise, uneventful. As I declared to the site director at noontime, “No collisions!”. I wonder if I’ll be invited back, another time.
Still a couple of hours to go before the big TV presentation from the capital. I have to ask myself: “What will I do if Nickelback takes the stage?” So hard to find acceptable talent for a pan-Canadian audience.
