Friends Under The Flag

 One man hurt his shoulder

a neighbor brought him a beer

Six feet apart

Nothing to fear.

Eight more joined the party

Five couples six feet away

We talked until hoarse

Cabin fever at bay.

We will remember that night

When survivors could brag

about how they had made it as

Friends Under The Flag.

___

Tom Crowley

Gulfport, Mississippi

April, 2020

The story

On Good Friday evening, Jack went over to visit with Mike, who recently had shoulder surgery. Jack carried his own beach chair, a bottle of wine and a glass. His dog, “Brees”, followed behind on her leash. Jack sat down on the sidewalk under a huge Magnolia tree, about 12 feet away from Mike, who sat on his porch in a rocker, shadowed by his American Flag. They toasted each other from a distance and visited for awhile.

Jack’s wife, Lynn, arrived, with glass and chair, sans bottle, and joined Jack on the sidewalk. Mike’s wife, Kim, soon appeared on the porch, waved to all and sat in a chair on the lawn near the porch. Then the new almost-neighbors, Eric and Michele, showed up with two chairs and a cooler. They had just settled on a contract to build across the street from Mike and Kim, next to Jack and Lynn, and ddirectly across the street from us. That made six friends, each couple 6-10 feet apart. My wife and I had just finished work on the house and opened a bottle of good red wine (for her) and a nice boxed wine for me when we heard laughing and joking outside. We went out to join the fun with our own chairs and wine and saw our other side neighbors, Lowry & Cyndy, on their porch. “Hey, lets go join the party at Mike and Kim’s!”. Four more to six made ten – the limit for a gathering under Gulfport Rules.

Soon, relieved that our “Shelter in Place/House Arrest” self imposed sentence had ended temporarily and safely, we all started talking at once, five cross-conversations, happily sharing good stories and limiting the sad ones. It was clear this was a much-needed break. Until I ran out of wine...I looked around in a mild panic, my wife saw this drunl-in-the-headlights look and said “Relax, we’ll go home soon. Mike, with empty glass radar spoke up:

“Tom! Put your glas down in the center of the yard and step back SIX feet.”

Holding his left arm in a sling and his right hand clutching a bottle of red wine, Mike,after waiting for me to clear the area, approached the glass...He poured, he backed away, I rushed the glass and returned to my safe distance.

“Cheers!” We all toasted something. A few hours later, we all went home to reflect on the short evening’s rendezvous. COVID-19 be damned. Nothing can keep good neighbors apart. In tryng times our instinct is to come together, not separate and stay at home...We love and support each other and always will. God, Flag, Country, Neighbors…. Deal with it!

Tom Crowley, Neighbor, Gulfport Mississippi – April 10, 2020.