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THIS STORY HAS BEEN FORMATTED FOR EASY PRINTING
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NATIONAL SPIRIT Suddenly, patriotism awakens Americans driven to show true colors in symbols, actions By Bella English, Globe Staff, Globe Correspondent, 9/14/2001
In a Dorchester park yesterday, a city worker sat 80 feet up in a bucket truck next to the Expressway, waving a huge American flag.
Boats in Boston Harbor are flying flags from their masts. ''God Bless America'' signs have sprouted up at gas stations and motels.
New England Patriots quarterback Drew Bledsoe says he's glad games have been postponed, because he'd have a ''very hard time competing against a fellow American.''
And even senior citizens are calling Boston-area Army recruiting centers to volunteer for active duty.
In the wake of Tuesday's terrorist attacks, local residents are finding their inner patriot. The deadly aggression on home soil struck right at the core - a deep red, white, and blue core - of American identity.
In both small and large ways, people are wearing their national pride on their sleeves this week - a rare occurrence in a liberal university town that prides itself on questioning authority and protesting everything.
''These are normal reactions whenever the country is under attack, and this certainly counts as an attack,'' said Marion Just, who teaches political science at Wellesley College. ''There were lots of people trying to sign up for the military after Pearl Harbor, and this is of that magnitude.''
Billy MacDonald, who works for the Boston Parks Department, was supposed to be trimming trees in Dorchester's McConnell Park yesterday. But the bucket that was to raise him to tree level instead served as a crow's nest where MacDonald, under broiling sun, spent the day waving a huge American flag at motorists on the Southeast Expressway.
''I'm proud to be an American,'' MacDonald, 25, shouted down to an inquiring reporter. ''I'm trying to keep hope alive up here.'' Throughout his stay, trucks, cars - even an MBTA train - responded with enthusiastic waves, whistles, and honks. MacDonald's co-worker, Joe Deltufo, who was serving as ''ground control,'' added: ''Little things like this help to show support for our country.''
The American flag - which just a generation ago was being burned by antiwar protesters - is a hot commodity today. At the Expressway Toyota automobile dealership on Gallivan Boulevard in Dorchester, hundreds of flags were attached to car antennas. ''It took awhile, but it's worth it,'' said sales manager Paul O'Brien. ''The flag is a symbol of America, and right now is the time to show your pride.''
Flag sales this week have soared throughout the region. ''I've been to every store within 10 miles of here that might possibly sell flags,'' said Peggy Gianni of Everett, as she stood outside a Saugus mall. ''People keep telling me to come back, come back, but ... I want a flag right now while I feel this way.''
In Hanover, customers waited 15 deep in lines outside the J.J. Browne Flag Co. ''It's been nonstop,'' said sales clerk Sandy Burke. At Olde Time Hardware in South Boston, owner Michael Medico ran out of flags Tuesday, with customers asking to buy two flags that adorn his storefront.
Anne Cullinane, who lives in the South End, spent yesterday searching for the Stars and Stripes. ''I've been to K Mart, Home Depot, CVS, and hardware stores,'' she said. ''They're all sold out.'' On her car's back antenna, she had fixed a small flag at
half-staff.
American Banner/The Flag Center in Medford is also out of flags. Undaunted, some customers settled for the Betsy Ross, which bears a circle of stars for the 13 original colonies.
''We can't do much,'' said Diane LeTourneau, who works at the store. ''But we can give blood, and we can put out the American flag.''
Others, however, did find another way to respond to the terrorism - by signing up for the armed services. Sergeant Herman King of the Boston Metro Army Recruiting Station on Devonshire Street said inquiries are up this week, some of them from surprising sources.
''I've had people in their 40s, 50s, and 60s calling in, seeing if they can enlist,'' said King. One senior citizen told King he was an Army veteran, ''had jumped out of airplanes, and is still qualified.'' When King gave him the age requirement - 17 to 34 - the man fumed that Congress needs to change the law.
At the other end of the age spectrum, 15-year-old Suzanna Lee of Brookline watched the news with her family on Tuesday evening. The next morning, she was at breakfast wearing red, white, and blue, an American flag bandanna around her head, and a miniature flag stuck in her backpack.
Yesterday, she sent an e-mail to her family and friends. ''If we take something from this devastation,'' she wrote, ''it will hopefully be to treasure our freedom and not take our lives for granted.'' She closed: ''We all need to pray for America.'' After school yesterday, she headed to a blood bank to volunteer.
In London, a Sudbury native who lives abroad said she and American friends planned today to attend a memorial service for the victims at St. Paul's Cathedral. ''I've been meeting with American friends and talking about it,'' said Stephanie Cooke, a freelance writer. ''We are stumbling through the day, the images playing themselves over and over in our heads.'' At Buckingham Palace, she watched and listened as America's national anthem was played during the changing of the fabled guards, who were clad in special black uniforms for the occasion. ''Americans were peering through the wrought iron gates, many of them crying,'' she said.
In the Back Bay, Dina Rebello wanted to be with friends, too. Last night, she hosted a ''Proud to be an American'' barbecue on her roof deck, which was decorated with a huge American flag. ''We're celebrating our freedom and our pride in being American,'' said Rebello, who works for a software company.
Just, of Wellesley College, believes such patriotic gestures are normal and healthy - as long as they are inclusive. Patriotism, she added, should not engender vengeance of the kind that many Japanese-Americans suffered during World War II.
''I think every one of us has to do what we can to link up with our community and feel like a part of the whole when we've been so harmed ... '' she said. ''But we have to remember that America is a diverse society and no one's patriotism should be questioned on the basis of their national origin.''
Globe correspondents Tara Arden-Smith and Joanna Massey contributed to this report.
This story ran on page A25 of the Boston Globe on 9/14/2001.
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