Flagpole Sitta

Of the several places I consider my "hometown" (this depends who I'm talking to, of course, and how familiar they are with my local geography) the smallest one is this village which is closest to where I actually reside. It has probably about 1000 residents--decent, solid, upstanding people-- Canada's equivalent of "middle America" if you will. Talk at the local restaurant doesn't geographically extend beyond travel of about half an hour away. It's always filled with local gossip-- who won the bingo on Tuesday night, the low down on local events, etc...

About six months ago, I noticed that one of the houses on the main street had three flag poles. Whenever I drove by, I noted that three different flags would appear. (Ok, I'm a bit of a geography nerd. I love it-- and the Geo Challenge game on Facebook has only fed the addiction... and my knowledge of world flags). Sometimes the flags are all from the countries of the UK... other times it'll be Canada, USA, and Australia... or maybe Germany, South Africa, and Ontario... or France, Russia, and Brazil... There is seemingly no rhyme or reason to the arrangement of flags. They go up in the morning, and they are down by sunset.

It always makes me smile, however, to think about the fact that EVERYDAY, the owner of the house selects three flags in the morning, walks outside-- no matter the weather, and proudly hoists the flags into the air. I always enjoy driving by and seeing which countries are displayed.

In my mind, I figured that the owner would rotate through the say 50-75 flags he or she has in order to give all of the flags equal fly time. As I said, there didn't seem to really be a consistent system of organization. I don't want to say that "No thought went into the arrangement" because I think that by flying three flags every day, some degree of worldliness and intelligence is obviously present.

Then came Christmas Day, 2009. As I got ready to drive by, I started squinting extra early to try and identify the three flags. As I approached, I quickly identified a novelty Santa Claus flag-- (And why not? It was Xmas, after all). The other two flags also stood out: they were the flags of Israel and Palestine.

I was gobsmacked. My initial reaction was surprised laughter. I honestly wasn't sure what message was trying to be put across.

But then I realized: What a political statement of inclusivity from a small village resident!!

I would wager that 95% of the people that drove by the house either didn't notice that the flags changed everyday or if they did, perhaps couldn't identify the significance of raising those symbols of three different nations/ belief systems.

I noticed, however, and it made me quite happy to be where I am.