Trouble getting to the poles

On April 17, 2007 in honor of the shooting victims in the
Virginia incident, the President of the United States ordered that
all U.S. flags are to be flown at half-staff. This should continue
until sundown on Sunday, April 22.
Trouble getting to the poles

On April 17, 2007 in honor of the shooting victims in the Virginia incident, the President of the United States ordered that all U.S. flags are to be flown at half-staff. This should continue until sundown on Sunday, April 22.

This morning (4/19/07) on my way in to work in Gilroy, I was appalled to see every flag that I passed was hanging at full-staff, save for two. The McDonalds on First Street at Wren Avenue and the McDonalds on 10th Street at Chestnut Street were both flying large, clean, beautiful American Flags. Kudo’s to them and their management.

Shame to every auto dealer on Chestnut Street and on Monterey Street and Luchessa Avenue. All of their flags hang 24 hours a day and many are in poor condition.

Although I feel deeply for the friends and family of the victims of the Virginia incident, I am not allowing myself to get wrapped up in the media frenzy of these events. It is this kind of exposure that gives the shooter exactly the publicity and notoriety he seeks.

I do however feel that the least we could do in our own local way, is to show respect to the victims by following the Presidents orders.

I expect that the persons responsible for the maintenance of these flags are also unaware that when a flag is presented at half-staff, it is to be raised “briskly” to the top of the pole and then lowered slowly in reverence to its final resting position halfway down the pole. The proper term for this is half-staff (half-mast is the proper term for a ship – hence the mast).

I am not a retired veteran, I have never served in the U.S. Military, nor am I some flag waving nutcase, but I am constantly amazed by our societies lack of respect for something that our children are currently giving their lives for.

If you would like to learn more about the flag and how to respect it, you may go to www.usflag.org.

Red Phone:

Dear Caller, You’re right, shame on the dealerships.

Red phone called around to raise the question about the flagpoles. Seems there’s not a real system in place for the Stars and Stripes. From the feedback we got from the dealerships, they don’t lower their own flags. Some cited inability and others workers’ safety. So, auto dealerships rely on a flag service where a hired hand comes out and raises and lowers the flags when necessary. The office managers blamed the service for not coming out to lower the flag, and assured us they weren’t trying to be disrespectful.

But, they weren’t trying very hard to be respectful either.

When Red Phone called the flag guy, we got a different story. Tony Lem, from Tony Lem flag poles, says he’s installed about 90 percent of the flags waving in Gilroy, and that the dealerships can raise or lower their own flags. Although he provided complimentary 9/11 lowering, he only travels back to the site when he receives a call for service. He charges depending on travel time from Campbell, but refused to give Red Phone a dollar amount for Gilroy flags.

When we asked how many service calls for Gilroy he got last week. Tony said, not a one.

So it remains unclear whether the dealerships can lower the flags on their properties, but it seems not a one made the effort to call Lem for help.