deliriouslove1970. The life & times of Gary and Denise Flanders. (Free and worth every penny. If you would like to compliment the editor, send to garytheflan@deliriouslove1970.com. If you would like to complain, call your mother.)

A truly beautiful flag, the erstwhile (thank you Dictionary.com word of the day) flag of the state of Maine. This was the official Maine Flag from 1901 to 1909. Then, as is true of so many things, the politicians got involved and adopted a truly ugly flag.

The flag from 1909 to present has been recognized by the North American Vexillological Association (NAVA) as the worst flag of any state in the Union. It breaks all of the rules and is a case study of a ‘bad flag’ in the NAVA publication, ‘Good Flag, Bad Flag’

The current flag is a boring blue field with the Maine seal in the center. Almost half of the states have the same ugly flag with the only difference being it is their seal. Therefore, none of them are distinguishable and all of them are…ugly. (That word, ‘Dirigo’ refers to the Northern Star.)

Here is a photo the original beautiful flag.

It is a ‘buff’ field (originally a tanned deer hide) with the symbol of New England – a pine tree. In the upper corner is The Northern Star (should have left it at that instead of using the word ‘Dirigo’).

This flag has creative style. You immediately know it is Maine. It does not need words. This flag would immediately be recognized as one of the best flags in the United States. And, there is some movement by individuals and businesses to reinstate the original flag. Similar to other issues: Politicians get out of the way, listen to the people. [As Patty Smith used to sing: ‘People Have The Power.]