I stopped today at a gas station near my office. I noticed a tattered flag displayed at the center of the parking lot. Inside, I made small talk with the manager while I prepared my morning coffee. I discovered the flag was damaged in one of several tornadoes the Midwest experienced this spring.
"Do you want me to bring you a new one?" I asked, explaining I can get one free through a veteran program located near my office. I figured he had just not gotten around to changing it.
"Nah. I can do that if I want. I know I should. Probably will soon. But I didn't want to right yet."
"Oh?" I said quizzically. "Why not?"
"That one's imperfect. It reminds me of us - the people who live around here. We might be roughed up, but we still here."
He paused a moment. "It's like the flag is saying: 'It's all good. Mostly.'"
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