My Mind is Blown...

Almost every weekday for the last 5 years, I've driven by the same house on my way to work. You know the cliche Vermont Victorian with the perfect lawn, neatly trimmed hedges, plants hanging on the porch.

I always wondered who lived there, what they were like. I imagined (by the look of their all-American dream home) that they were conservative, self-made millionaires. They were Steve Martin and Diane Keaton in Father of the Bride, the loving father in his white cardigan playing basketball with his daughter in the driveway, Mom weeding the garden. Nice cars in the garage, porch swing, blooming flowers bursting out of every crevice of their perfect Victorian estate.

I never actually saw these people... They must have left work before I did and come home after I drove past in the evening. I never saw what kind of car they drove either or Super Dad mowing the lawn or playing with the kids in the driveway. I had to leave the daily happenings of their life up to my imagination.

Then today, out of the blue... a clue! Finally, a hint as to who these people really are! As I was approaching their house, I saw that (for the first time in 5 years), they had put something new on their porch. From down the street, I could tell that it was a porch flag. It looked like Super Dad had spent hours constructing the flag pole with an architect's eye for angle and optimum light reflection, probably using a protractor, measuring tape, and a level... simultaneously.

I thought, "Here it is... they've finally added the cherry to the top of their American-dream-home sundae... the American flag!" I imagined Super Dad saying, "We're not just a family any more... we're an American family..." as his wife, son, and daughter stood back to applaud his handiwork.

But as I got closer, I realized it wasn't an American flag, but a... Bernese... mountain dog... puppy flag. Wait, what??

WHAT???