Ever since we moved into our home in 1976 we have put up our American flag on all important and pertinent holidays that require it.

Only one other person on our street flies a flag and that at best is sporadicly done.

After 9/11 flag sales were booming and everyone on my street was flying a flag. In fact nearly everyone in this city suddenly had a flag. It did my heart good to see them all.

Now that 9/11 has come and gone it's back to business as usual. The flags are all gone except mine and a precious few others. My husband inherited this flag from his dad. It's nearly 50 years old. He dutifully puts it up in the morning and takes it in at night. He gets so upset when he sees it improperly displayed. He taught me all the rules conerning it's proper display and disposal.

Where did all the pride and patriotism go? Was it a superficial, fleeting thing?

The house next to mine is an occasional weekend retreat for its owners. The wife on the first visit in the Spring puts up the flag. It flies 24/7 until I finally take it down when I know they've gone for the winter.

It breaks my heart to see my country's flying on an unattended house, rain or shine, day or night.

I've taken it down again this winter. Come spring, I am not going to return it. I will offer to replace it with a red/white/blue non-American flag banner if they want. But I've promised myself that every flag they put up and drive away from, I'll take down.

What really really really gets me is that the husband is a WWII veteran.

I puddle up so easily when I see Old Glory doing her thing. And, given that I'm not a news freak, sometimes I go out and see the flag at half-mast and get a chill, wondering at the cause.

You know what makes me sad too? Every year near Memorial Day and again on Forth of July the same old gentleman stands outside at our large grocery store holding his can and his red silk poppies. People pass him without giving him a moments notice. I've always stopped and purchased a poppie then told him, "Thank you for your service to our country." I've got drawer-fulls of red, silk poppies.They adorn my car mirror.

This past year I noticed a younger vet took the old fellow's place. I wonder what happened to him?

I hope everyone stops and gives more than a passing glance to these fellows. Even if you can't donate, why not just tell them how much you appreciate them? They fought for us to fly that flag with pride.

Thank you for responding. I was beginning to think no one cared.

Two weeks after 9/11, we drove to Long Island to celebrate my daughter's birthday. The sides of the road were littered with plastic flags that had blown off cars and nobody had cleaned up. It really made me sad that people put so little thought behind attatching them properly. I have no doubt that every one who lost a flag was well-meaning when they put them on the cars.

I always buy poppies.

Got a poppy hanging with my cross on my rear view mirror.