Don is back from his Black Hills trip. Both he and the van did great. I got some pretty cool gifts from the Mt. Rushmore gift shop as thanks for loaning him Flying Cloud.

I begin to wonder, “what shall we do for Friday night?” Movie? Nope, no theaters in town and the closest is an hour drive. We could do Amazon Prime Movies but we don’t want to be indoors on a summer evening. Fabulous dinner? We have 2 restaurants, and they will be packed for this holiday weekend anyway. Walk/hike? Don has a cold and the air is heavy with smoke from the Canadian wildfires. Swimming pool? Filled with kids. I do not even consider shopping because I live in a town of 1000 people. The few stores here close early. What then? I ask Don

Hey, he says. I have to put up all the flags on main street for the Fourth of July weekend. Want to help? Something different to do, so I don’t hesitate, You bet. What is my pay? He offers an ice-cream cone. Do I have to dress up or put on makeup? Nope, just be your lovely self. Deal .

We borrow and old truck and load up the flags. Don gets in the passenger side since I drive while he hoists flags

 

Flags!!

Most of the utility poles along the main street have flag holders and, on appropriate holidays, Don hoists the large flag poles/flags into the holders. The effect is wonderful as you drive through town. On Memorial Day I tagged along in the pickup while Don put up the flags. He was perched in the back of the truck and a friend drove This time, his friend offers us his pickup and asks if I will drive while he does some other projects. Heck yes! We head first to the Legion Hall to pick up the flags. At the first pole, Don hops in the back and we begin. I do just fine the first few times, then nearly clip off a mailbox or two. One time I pull up too far from the curb, but before long I am an expert.

First flag goes up…sky is smoky from Canadian Fires

View of the flag man from inside the truck. I have been gently suggesting shorter socks. Maybe soon. Changes comes slowly at our age. 

Lots of locals drove by and waved. One carload of senior citizens out for an evening drive circled the block so they could chat. . I avoid knocking Don to the street with sudden lurches, so it was a successful outing.We returned the truck and reclaimed  Vegates (Don’s car). However, the time was 8 PM and the McTwist ice-cream place was closed. Hmmmmmm. All that work and no ice-cream treat. The grocery also closed at 8 PM, so what shall we do? The gas station! They stayed open until 9 PM. Two drumsticks, please. Date night was saved!

Not too spiffed up for date night, goofy hat makes hair do odd things.

We eat our cones, pick up Tango at my house, and head out to Green Lake, a nearby camping hot spot. We want to see just how packed in people are. Then, we drive home, past interesting birds and other small lakes. We remark that the sun is still so high in the sky at 9 PM. Yikes! Getting late. I have a long work day tomorrow. Don’s cold is nagging him. Don walks me into my house so I can look up something for him on the Internet. Yawn. Sneeze. 

Good night! Take Care.Thanks for helping. Thanks for the ice-cream. Be good Tango. Talk to you tomorrow. Get better soon.  

Life in a small town, a nice guy, ice-cream, flags, my dog, people waving, Fourth of July weekend = a perfect night. While others may find this boring, I feel so infinitely blessed and thankful to live and work in rural America.