Monday, 18 November 2002

I was walking down a street here when I saw a store flying the American flag out front. It's always a thrill to see Old Glory when you're overseas, unless of course they're burning it right outside your office building. (Now there's a memory of New Zealand I won't soon forget. Our offices were in the Mobil Oil building, which meant the anti-globalization / "no blood for oil" protesters were drawn to the place like a magnet: From twelve stories up, I had the displeasure of watching a flag-burner do his worst. All hail freedom of speech.)

Anyhow, I went to see what store was proudly flying our flag in the middle of Australia. Sometimes you'll see national flags outside restaurants, travel agencies, etc., so I was curious to find out what kind of establishment it was.

It was a military surplus store.

To be fair to New Zealand, I also remember the week after September 11th, when the Kiwis took their own national flag off the poles and flew the Stars and Stripes at half-mast. It was a spontaneous, moving, and much-appreciated gesture.

- Posted by Scott Forbes at 5:34 am. comments.