the refuge of scoundrels

A couple of days ago, Claremont Insider reminded us of last year's FlagGate, but little did I know that I would wake up yesterday morning (4 July) to find a flag planted in my own yard, with a realtor's ad stapled to the blue-and-white-stars section.

This pisses me off for several reasons. First of all, what a nerve! Secondly, what a nerve! (Sorry, can't help myself.)

Thirdly, stapling an ad to a flag seems like the ultimate in disrespect for national symbols -- doesn't anybody read the Flag Code anymore? (Full disclosure: Everything I know about the Flag Code I learned from Encyclopedia Brown.)

But most of all, this pisses me off because it's MY yard, dammit. When random people -- in this case, Barbara Armendariz, whom I will henceforth badmouth whenever the opportunity arises -- dump stuff in my yard without my permission, I call it littering. Especially when the litter consists of an insulted flag.

It sparked a meditation on the difference between advertising and spam, but I'll spare you that. I will say, however, that I know we're in the right neighborhood: By the end of the day, only one house on the block still had its flag, and I'm not sure that person was in town.

§§§

We spent July Fourth in the most patriotic way possible, spending money. Specifically at Lowe's (we hadn't yet seen GoP's suggestion of the San Dimas Ace hardware), along with several dozen other childless couples. We got a rake, hedgeclippers, and the requisite small metal objects. Plus we fawned over random orbital sanders and 20-foot ladders.

We had a Central American lunch to counteract the effects of such heinous spendo-Americanism, at the pupuseria on Holt & Garey that we've had our eye on.

It's called Guasalmex, and the menu is a triptych of delight: Left side, Guatemala; center, El Salvador; Right, Mexico. Where else can you get three different national styles of enchilada, I ask you?

I had a couple of pupusas and a glass of jamaica, and K had the (Guatemalteco) pastelito de carne and horchata. The pupusas were good, and the big bowl of curtido was excellent, although the jamaica was too sweet -- next time I'll test their tamarindo. K's pastelito was good too.

We'll definitely head back there soon -- there were lots of good-sounding things on the menu. And the next time we have to feed a bunch of people, they have a special: 20 pupusas and a 2-liter bottle of Pepsi for $19.99. If only we'd known about that during the move!