Retiring faded flag after 9-11 anniversary

Former Record-Courier staffer Marshall Meckley died last weekend in

California. He was 92.

Marshall worked for the R-C back in the early 1990s where he served as

courier and all-around good guy.

I remember him and R-C photographer Chris Tumbusch talking about Chicago in the 20s and 30s while we worked getting the newspaper out.

Marshall worked at the R-C for several years and remained in contact when he took over wife Helen's Avon route.

Two of Marshall's great-great-grandchildren, Dru Michael Robert Seleski and Lindsey Fay Serpa, still live in Carson City.

Stateline writer Danielle Campbell was signing copies of "A Cup of Comfort

Cookbook," at the Bookcellar last weekend.

The compilation of recipes includes Cambell's story about her grandfather's

red sauce.

She writes about sitting in her grandfather's kitchen in Carson City

and how he made the sauce.

The cookbook is a compilation of recipes and stories involving comfort foods.

I was teaching my class in the high tech center Monday evening when I'd

finally felt like I'd hit my stride as an instructor.

I was describing publications and I looked up at the clock and it said it was

8 p.m. already. I felt like I was rolling. I extolled and described until I

looked up at the clock and it was 8:15 p.m. and time for the break.

Never in my life had a class gone so fast on either side of the lectern. I

was all cocky when I walked out into the quad and spoke with fellow

instructor Jayna Conkey.

"This building is haunted," she said and pointed up at the clock.

As I watched the clock slowly began to slowly spin round and round.

This was a week after someone took over the intercom and started their own radio show for the school to hear.

"What are you doing?" the voice eventually came over the loudspeaker. "That's going through the whole school."

Isabel Young won the contest as the first person to leave a message on my new phone number. She told me she plans on calling me again once she has

collected her thoughts because she has so much to tell me.

I bought a new flag recently. It didn't seem right to retire my old flag,

which we flew Sept. 11 last year, until the anniversary had passed.

My old flag flew almost constantly over the past year, in rain and shine, day

and night. We took it down in the dead of winter, but put it back up in early

spring. The wind would blow the flag around, and I would have to unwrap it

from the pole most mornings. When I came home at night it would be hung up on some obstruction, but by the time I fetched the ladder to free it, it would have shaken itself loose from its entanglements.

When its lanyard frayed, we made a new one from string. It has stood through bad times and in good and is a welcome reminder of who we are and where we come from.

When I took it down, I folded it up and put it away. Every so often I'll

stumble across it while looking for something else and remember it was the

flag we flew on two Sept. 11ths.

Kurt Hildebrand is former managing editor at the Nevada Appeal. Reach him at 887-2430, ext. 402 or e-mail him at kurt@tahoe.com.