Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Antenna Flag

The American flag on the car antenna has a long and complicated history...

(See the continuation of this video in post; "Happy Wanderer", April 29, 2008)

The whole justification for putting the flag on the antenna was so dad could find the car in a crowded parking lot. Other items stuck on top of the antenna, such as the Styrofoam 76 balls from the gas station were just as effective for identifying the car amongst vast acres of parked cars, the predominant example being the Disneyland parking lot and the time we forgot which Disney character section we parked our car, but was saved by the fact we had a 76 ball on the antenna to assist out search. Dad had... still has, a box of 76 ball in his garage somewhere, the story being that he and one of his pals got drunk one night and decided to comb the city for 76 balls, stealing them from other cars antennas, resulting in a catch of dozens of 76 balls. I found it ironic that Dad always got extremely upset when somebody would eventually steal the 76 ball off our car antenna.

But the American flag became the annual tradition for the trips, and the journey was not complete until the flag adorned the antenna. Other advantages for the flag included a proud display of patriotism, a symbol of our great country as we all traveled every corner of it, and it distinguished our car as special among the other cars on the highways.

No comments: