President Barack Hussein Obama

Jerry hooks the grommet at one end of the nylon fabric to the top of the pole.

“Where do we attach the other end?” I ask.  I grab the pole and fiddle with plastic rings in the middle.

“Hold the end,” I say, eyeing the fabric falling towards the floor.  Jerry gathers it up.  I turn back to the puzzle of the plastic rings.  They have bumps that look like they should fit through the grommets, so I try to force them.

“Careful, you’ll break them.”  Jerry reaches one hand out to take over.

“Don’t let it touch the floor.” I say, raising my voice.

Jerry snickers. “You don’t want it to touch the ground?”

“No, I don’t.  I want to do it right.”

We examine the plastic rings further then give up on them.

“I’ll tie the bottom with some string,” he says.

“Just don’t make it funky,” I say.  “Make it nice.”

He goes to find string and then comes back.

“When should we put it up?” I ask.  “Tonight or tomorrow?”

“You can’t fly a flag at night,” he says.

“You’re kidding?  Who says?”

“You just can’t.”

I lean the flag against the wall by the door,  wrapping the length of fabric round the pole, so it doesn’t touch the ground.

We both sit down and pick up our laptops.  I’m still worried about the plastic rings, sure they have something to do with attaching the grommets to the pole.   I look for instructions.  I’m not sure what Jerry is looking up.  Mutual embarrasment over our sudden interest in flags has led to some grumpiness.

We speak at once: “Look at this.”  I hand him my laptop, with instructions on how to  unscrew the knobs on the plastic rings to pin the flag to the pole.  Getting up to fix the flag, he hands me his laptop with an excerpt from the flag code.   Sure enough, there’s a “universal custom” to fly the flag only in daylight hours, although some people claim it’s okay to fly it 24 hours a day with proper illumination.

Since this is our first time, we decide to play it safe: we’ll raise it in the morning.

“But when in the morning?” I ask.    I try to picture the best moment.  When Obama first puts his hand on Lincoln’s Bible? When he completes the oath? When he’s giving his speech?

“Let’s not get too weird about this,” Jerry says.   Perhaps he’s right.  After 48 years, a flag raising at any time tomorrow means more than I can put into words.

In the end, I go with the sunrise.

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