Over the coming years...

Just came from a visit to the dry cleaners in my new neighborhood. No sooner did I reach the counter than I saw a huge makeshift sign which read: "We will clean your American flag for free;" for free, I thought....hmmmm..... French playwright Jean Anouilh once said, "What you get free costs too much."

On my way out, I approached the proprietor, and asked "Why are you not charging for this service?" He looked at me sternly, and said only; "It's our patriotic duty to keep the flag clean." .""And so it is," I replied; trying to keep a clean flag may cost more and more over the coming years.