Boys Without A Door, But With A Flag

I was in the WalMart parking lot in May 2018 when I noticed a car without a door. My first thought was that I hoped it had a secure seatbelt. My second thought was, "Why are those two young men taping a flag to their antennae?"

So I asked them both questions.

First of all, they were AWOL from school, since "There wasn't much to do."

I remembered late May at my own Utah high school, and had to agree that there wasn't much readin' writin' or 'rithmetic going on at that time.

In the minds of these two friends, who prefer not to be named (would the principal really come after you now, in the SUMMER?) it was more worthwhile to get an American flag for their ride. They each had a grandpa or great grandpa who fought and even died in U.S. wars. So the flag meant something personal to them.

As for the door?

It fell off.

They planned a near-future junkyard excursion to find and attach a replacement.

I have not often found youth who have such appreciation for the American flag.

I salute you, unknown young men, for carrying on the legacy of patriotism.

And for fastening your seat belts really tight.

If you don't have a bike flag...

I was told more than once that I needed a flag on my recumbent bike so that I wouldn't get run over by a semi. In fact, when I pedaled across streets, I sat so low to the ground that there was even an element of danger that a mini cooper driver would not see me.

Originally I was responsible enough to have a bike flag installed, but but when my teenager rode my bike, he thought it looked dorky so he took it off. Then I didn't want to be road kill so I put it on to ride, then he took it off and rode it, then I put it on, and he took it off, and after a few hundred times, it broke. 

But never fear, I have not been flattened! I found a solution.

There is always a way.

Finding A Rock in an Unlikely Place

Would you be surprised to open your car door and find a rock in your car? I mean, if you didn't leave one there the last time you drove. I was puzzled by the rock I found in my car. It hadn't been there the last time I looked. Sometimes Bron borrows my car, but why would he put a rock in it, especially on the floor of the driver's side?

Hm.

It could be to put behind a tire to hold the car in place in case it's parked on a hill and the brakes give out.

It could be to break out a window in case the car plunges into a deep body of water.

Maybe it's intended for use against a car jacker... although a car jacker just might see a bright white rock coming at him. Yet ducking might not work to totally avoid injury, since rocks are prone to follow the law of gravity, and so could still fall on an attacker's head.

Perhaps it's really a petrified dinosaur egg.

There could be a diamond hidden inside.

Maybe it's an alien skull.

It could be ballast for an unexpected boat ride, or be used to hold down the corner of a tent constructed from the blankets I keep in the back of my car.

I finally asked Bron about it, and he said, "I saw one of those flags the Scouts stick into lawns tipping over, so I found this rock and used it to hammer the flag back in. Then I put it in the car and drove home."

Mystery solved! Now I can write a story about some of the things I contemplated before finding out the truth. 

What did you think the rock was for?