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Boise flag display memorializes Idahoans lost to COVID-19

Since mid-November, Cindy Pollock and her mother-in-law, Sara, have spent every morning planting orange flags in her front lawn.

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BOISE, Idaho — It's the time of year many are putting up holiday decorations around the house.

But for Cindy Pollock, a different kind of adornment is taking over the front of her Boise foothills home, which sits on a busy road.

Since mid-November, Pollock and her mother-in-law, Sara, have spent every morning planting orange flags in her front lawn.

"I bought 1,200 flags and I didn't think I'd be putting this many out every day. I thought it would be two or three? I guess I wasn't really paying that much attention," Cindy said.

As of Dec. 1, there were 966 flags planted in front of her home, each representing an Idahoan who has died from COVID-19 since March.

"Every time you put a flag in there, you're realizing that it's a human life and it's not just an individual person," she said. "It's all the people who they love you know it's much greater than just this."

"I mean, it's for myself too, to make myself less numb to all the numbers and to bring some humanity to it."

Pollock said she got the idea from similar displays across the country. She's made hers more unique by adding the names of just some of those who died to make it a little more personal.

"I didn't realize it would be such a morning ritual that it was going to get to me like that but in a sense, I'm glad it's more than just the numbers."

Since late October, the number of new cases has climbed by double digits every day.

"Our numbers are skyrocketing, so I've already thought how much of this is going to take over the lawn?" she said. "It just really makes me sad that the people who are dying are just dying very anonymously."

In the middle of her noticeable knoll, Pollock, who said she's not really religious, also planted a quote from Pope Francis, which reads:

In order for us to come through this less selfish than when we went in, we have to wake up and acknowledge the pain that other people are feeling. I think that's what makes us human is to tell our stories and to be empathetic.

Pollock said she hopes this display will force people to take the pandemic seriously.

"I want them to respect that there are people suffering and no matter what they believe about the virus, it's killing people and it's killing Idahoans every day."

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