Yesterday, I told about how things at work changed on September 11, 2001.

When I got home that day, things changed, too.

We had moved back to the Atlanta area a few months before, and we were renting a friend’s house until we decided where we wanted to buy. We hadn’t personalized this house very much. But when I got home that day, the first thing I did was put up a flag pole on the front porch, and fly an American flag. I left the porch light on to illuminate it at night.

When we moved into our new home a few months later, I installed a spotlight to shine on the flag. It flies 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. I’ve replaced it probably ten times in 25 years, and only three flags have been worn enough to warrant disposal. (More on my disposal method later.) I’ve given the others to the local Boy Scout troop.

For many years I also flew a flag from my mailbox to honor my brother Michael, who served in the US Army. I started doing that when he enlisted, and ended when he retired several years ago.

Does this mean I’ve become more patriotic since September 11? I don’t think so. I think I’ve stopped taking that patriotism for granted. I’m not a covert patriot now, I am overt.

I also made changes to how I look at personal security. I now carry a gun just about everywhere, not just “when I think I might need it.” Like most people, my concept of “when I might need it” changed on September 11.

Do I worry about terrorist attacks now, after September 11, and Mumbai, and the other attacks since then? I don’t worry about them or change what I do because of them, per se. I know it sounds corny, but if I change how I live my life, then the terrorists have won. And I know that’s not true.

Maybe it’s just being 25 years older. I know I am 25 years wiser.