<Photo: The Squawker>
The Keep America Great garden sign is still in place
(above, right), with the American flag. But the clearest
signs of change are evident in the window -- the
BLACK LIVES MATTER sign,and the Ukrainian flag.
One of our favorite pastimes, as far as the Squawker and I are concerned, is cruising around town, snapping photos of whatever suits our fancy. As fellow travelers in outsider art, this type of activity only seems logical, especially when you're looking for sights that seem slightly out of the ordinary.
Today's photo definitely qualifies. For the last couple years, we'd noticed a house that we dubbed "The Trump Shrine," because whoever owned it seemed bound and determined to give onlookers as much visual evidence as possible of their devotion to President #45, as he's known in certain quarters.
On the side of the home hung a splashy, bright red flag that proclaimed, in white lettering, "TRUMP 2024: PROMISES MADE, PROMISES KEPT." A pair of statutory red, white and blue campaign signs hung in the windows, and for a time, a yellow flag bearing the Revolutionary War motto ("DON'T TREAD ON ME") and accompanying rattlesnake, also hung proudly over the front entrance.
Imagine our surprise, then, when we drive by a couple months ago. The Trump flags were all gone. That's the first thing we noticed.
What's more, they'd been replaced by....not one, not two, but three -- count 'em -- blue and yellow Ukrainian flags! And there's a BLACK LIVES MATTER sign in the window, too!
"What's going on here?" I wonder. "Did the owner do a total 180, ideology-wise, or does somebody else live here now? Either way, I'd love to hear the story. Whatever it is."
"Yeah, it sure is weird," Squawker allows. "But anything's possible, as we both know. I know people who spent decades as evangelicals..."
"And I've run across my fair share of ex-Hare Krishnas, and on the other end, stumbled over active Scientologists," I agree. "So yeah, nothing would amaze me. But still..."
We make another run around the block, in case we're just blearier-eyed than usual. It seems hard to imagine such a total makeover, in this age of extreme polarization, as the talking heads constantly remind us (Blah blah blah extreme polarization blah blah blah blah a nation never more sorely divided blah blah blah blah blah the starkest social divide since the '60s... etc. etc. etc....).
Or is it? I try to visualize whatever went on in that homeowner's head, past or present. Did Trump ultimately disappoint that fan, somehow? ("What promises kept? What border wall, anyway? What Obamacare repeal?") Did the whole Trump phenomenon seem hollow, somehow, the more months that ticked by, as Biden remained firmly in place at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue? ("You mean they can't overturn the 2020 election, after all?") Or maybe the puzzle pieces fell into place, once a sinking feeling set in ("The only swamp he ever drained was the one that emptied right into his coffers. I've been taken for a ride.")
At any rate, the decor didn't change, the moment we'd rounded the block again. Obviously, it wasn't some figment of our imaginations, though we still wonder inspired the makeover. I heard a different theory, a couple weeks ago, from someone driving me off to a medical appointment.
When I rattled off the various decor changes, and pondered aloud the possibility of a Trump-to-BLM conversion, she just rolled her eyes, and laughed off the notion, "Oh, there's no way! That house must have been sold. What else explains it?"
"Yeah, that seems more likely," I said. "But still, you have to wonder..." Because, come to think of it, one finishing touch remains from the past regime, and that's the KEEP AMERICA GREAT garden sign, which is still stuck in the ground (see above).
What's that about? I ask myself. Keeping both political options open, perhaps, in case of apocalypse? Offering a different twist on a tried and true slogan? Or maybe it's just a case of simple absentmindedness, or indifference?
We'll never know, I'm sure, because it's hard to decipher an enigma, without the hint of a ready explanation. Then again, social phenomena can be funny like that. --The Reckoner
UPDATE (3/8/23): I guess we spoke too soon. The political paraphernalia has since come down, save for the KEEP AMERICA GREAT GARDEN sign, that remains stuck in the lawn. An indicator of some major change in mood, or a simple reflection of some need to do some spring cleaning? who knows?
Maybe the occupant's tired of the whole subject, which I've heard a fair amount of people say lately. In any event, the above snapshots will have to stand as the sole visual evidence of a sight that inspired no shortage of comments and in-jokes. Like any casual or dedicated rubbernecker, we'll now have to find them elsewhere. Or so it seems, anyway.
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