No Place Like Home

We fly a full-size flag atop a flagpole that Bill made, most days of the year. Four days before July 4th, Bill realized our flag had become raggedy and worn, and asked me to buy a replacement. I was in the bigger (but not big) town to the north, so I thought the odds would be better of finding one there.
Called Tractor Supply. Chris answered the phone and wanted to know how big, a reasonable question. "I dunno," I said. "Big." "How big?" Chris repeated with a trace of irritation. "Big enough to fly on a flagpole."
They only had flags that measured in inches.
Called Lowe's. I instructed the automated system to connect me to the operator. The operator never answered the phone.
Called Ace Hardware in Hollister. Friendly female connected me to Kathy, whose voice I recognized as the Kathy that used to work in our bookstore.
They had large flags in three sizes, and yes, they did have the kind with embroidered (instead of printed) stars.
Thank you Kathy. Thank you Ace. Three cheers for the red white and blue.