Treatment of flag just not right

I saw something truly disturbing to me as I was having lunch the other day.

It was a cloudy day, threatening rain a day after a significant storm moved through Porterville and the rest of the South County.

As I munched on my lunch, I watched as an employee of the fast-food restaurant — American and California flags in hand — made his way out the door to raise the national and state standards.

A group of co-workers, apparently on break, watched and laughed as their co-worker struggled with the task at hand.

First it was separating the U.S. and state flags, which looked to be wrapped together.

Then it was how best to handle two large flags when only one can be raised at a time. The solution was to stuff a balled-up state flag into a pants pocket to free both hands for raising Old Glory.

That proved challenging as well. The poor guy struggled to unfold the flag and position it properly to attach it to the flagpole. This involved draping the flag over his head, clutching the flag with both hands and trying — to no avail — to attach the flag to the flagpole.

Mercifully, one of the chuckling co-workers went outside and offered his assistance. Before the flag could be raised, however, it was decided that it was likely to rain again and the plan was aborted.

Both flags were unceremoniously rolled up and brought back inside the restaurant.

I knew, based on what I had just witnessed, there was little chance either flag would be folded properly for storage. Sure enough, when I went to the front of the restaurant before leaving, I saw the American flag in the manager’s office — tossed on a shelf and left there for all to see.

Now IÂ’m not a veteran, but my father is. I have friends who have served and continue to serve in the armed forces. I was raised to respect the flag, and to treat both the state and U.S. flags with a high level of respect.

I asked to speak with the manager, and politely suggested the situation with the flags could have been handled better. After all, this is a town that celebrates Flag Day every summer, and hosts a parade each Veterans Day. She smiled, but offered no indication she understood where I was coming from.

As I left, I knew Old Glory was likely going to remain crumpled on the shelf. I thought about going back later to check, but decided not to bother.

In this instance, IÂ’m going to voice my displeasure over the mistreatment of our flags with my wallet. IÂ’ll likely not eat there again.

Contact Editor Glen Faison at 784-5000, Ext. 1040, or gfaison@portervillerecorder.com.