{"id":58526,"date":"2025-05-11T12:20:08","date_gmt":"2025-05-11T12:20:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pulsperry.com\/?p=58526"},"modified":"2025-05-11T12:20:08","modified_gmt":"2025-05-11T12:20:08","slug":"i-woke-u","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pulsperry.com\/?p=58526","title":{"rendered":"\u201cI WOKE U."},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"May<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It wasn\u2019t about the flag.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was about what it meant to me. I\u2019d put it up the day I moved in\u2014not to make a statement, but to feel more at home. A new street, new neighbors, new everything. I was the outsider, and everyone knew it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It wasn\u2019t even a big flag\u2014just a modest one, clipped to the post by the porch. I never expected anyone to notice, let alone take it. But there I was, Tuesday morning, standing barefoot on the porch in my boxers, coffee in hand, staring at the empty post.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And right below it on the welcome mat\u2014folded small, with no name on it\u2014was a crisp $20 bill and a sticky note that read:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNothing personal. Hope this covers it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No signature. No explanation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I stared at the bill as if it were a puzzle I couldn\u2019t solve. I picked it up, held it between two fingers, and felt a wave of something I couldn\u2019t quite name. Anger? Confusion? Sadness?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No. It was disappointment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not because of the money. Not because of the flag. But because someone had seen something that mattered to me\u2014and decided it didn\u2019t matter as much as whatever issue they had with it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, I know how things appear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m not exactly a local. I moved here from Arizona after retiring. Bought the smallest house on a quiet street, hoping for peace. I didn\u2019t grow up with these folks. I didn\u2019t go to the same churches, schools, or bake sales. I didn\u2019t vote the same way, either, I guess.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But I kept to myself. Mowed my lawn, waved politely. Never caused any trouble.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So for that to be my welcome?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That stung.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I didn\u2019t file a police report. What could I even say? \u201cSomeone stole my American flag and paid me for it\u201d? No damage. No confrontation. Just a quiet little hit-and-run on something personal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I let it go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Or, at least, I tried.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But three days later\u2026 it happened again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This time, it was the replacement flag. I bought another one from the hardware store, ten bucks, nothing fancy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And this time? A $10 bill and another sticky note.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAgain, nothing personal. Just can\u2019t have that flying here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No punctuation. No name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Something in me snapped\u2014not in an angry, violent way. Just in that weary, deep-in-your-chest kind of way, when you realize someone sees you as a problem just for existing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I didn\u2019t sleep much that night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next morning, I went to the local bakery. Sat there, sipping bad coffee, staring into space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s when Sheila, the lady who runs it, came over with a warm smile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou\u2019re Nate, right?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I nodded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHeard you\u2019re missing some flags.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I blinked. \u201cYou heard?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She nodded. \u201cIt\u2019s a small town, hon. People talk.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I gave a half-smile. \u201cAny idea who\u2019s got the problem?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She hesitated. \u201cNot exactly. But I\u2019ve got a guess. And I don\u2019t think it\u2019s about the flag. Not really.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I leaned back. \u201cThen what is it about?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She looked me dead in the eye. \u201cYou being different. And them not knowing what to do with that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That afternoon, I did something I hadn\u2019t planned on. I went door to door on my block with a tray of homemade chocolate chip cookies (yes, me\u2014thank you, YouTube). Introduced myself. Told them I used to teach shop class. That I was a Marine back in \u201981. That I missed the desert sun and still watched old westerns on Friday nights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most folks were nice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some seemed surprised I even bothered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But at the end of the block, something strange happened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A kid\u2014couldn\u2019t have been older than twelve\u2014ran up to me and said:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHey! Are you the flag guy?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I laughed awkwardly. \u201cI guess so.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He looked guilty. \u201cI think it was my older brother. He\u2026 he didn\u2019t mean to be mean. He just gets weird about stuff like that. Says flags mean things.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I crouched down. \u201cWell, they do mean things. To all of us. Just sometimes different things.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The boy nodded. \u201cHe said you were probably here to change people\u2019s minds.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I smiled. \u201cI\u2019m just here to fix up an old house and drink my coffee in peace.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He looked down. Then pulled something from his backpack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My flag. Folded carefully. Still clean.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI saved it,\u201d he said. \u201cDidn\u2019t want it thrown away.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I felt something tighten in my chest. Not sadness this time. Something else. Hope, maybe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThank you,\u201d I said. \u201cYou\u2019ve got a good head on your shoulders.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He smiled. \u201cYou gonna put it back up?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I thought for a second. Then shook my head.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNope.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He looked surprised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m gonna frame it,\u201d I said. \u201cAnd hang it inside my window. So if someone\u2019s got something to say about it again, they\u2019ll have to knock.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes people won\u2019t like you for reasons they don\u2019t even understand. And it\u2019s easier for them to judge you than to meet you. But you don\u2019t have to meet their fear with more fear. Or hate with hate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kindness isn\u2019t weakness. And holding on to who you are? That\u2019s strength.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You don\u2019t have to be loud to stand tall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes, you just need to open your door\u2026 and let them see you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It wasn\u2019t about the flag. It was about what it meant to me. I\u2019d put it up the day I moved in\u2014not to make a statement, but… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pulsperry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58526"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pulsperry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pulsperry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pulsperry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pulsperry.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=58526"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/pulsperry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58526\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":58527,"href":"https:\/\/pulsperry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58526\/revisions\/58527"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pulsperry.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=58526"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pulsperry.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=58526"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pulsperry.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=58526"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}