Re: Not P but DFW: There’s nothing in the Yellow Pages under Flag.

[Mark Kohut]

I now suggest, see below, that what Waallace meant was local stores that
sold flags....close enough to
Mrs.Thompson's for a trip, not supply stores or a lot of chain stores, etc.
...Esp with what you say
about the rest of the piece..

Historically, the *Yellow Pages* for cities like Bloomington, Indiana, did
include a specific category for *"Flags & Banners"* (or simply "Flags").
However, the contents of that section were usually quite niche rather than
being filled with numerous local storefronts.
The "Flags" Section Breakdown

   -

   *The Category:* In a typical Bloomington directory from the late 20th
   century to the early 2000s, you would find a heading for *Flags &
   Banners - Retail*.
   -

   *Local vs. Regional:* Because flag-specific stores are specialized, the
   Bloomington section often only featured one or two local entries. It was
   common for the section to be padded with "Display Ads" for larger regional
   supply shops based in Indianapolis or national mail-order companies.
   -

   *Stock:* These listings specifically focused on *American Flags*, state
   flags, and decorative house banners. They also sold hardware like
   flagpoles, brackets, and eagles.

Where People Actually Bought Flags

While the "Flags" section existed, most residents didn't use it for a
standard American flag. The Yellow Pages would often cross-reference or
"See Also" other categories where flags were more commonly stocked:

   1.

   *Hardware Stores:* Local staples like *Kleindorfer’s Hardware* or
   *Black’s* were the primary local sources.
   2.

   *Army-Navy Surplus:* Surplus stores in the Bloomington area were
   frequent go-tos for high-quality, heavy-duty American flags.
   3.

   *Department Stores:* Large retailers (Sears, Penney's) listed in the
   "Department Stores" section were the high-volume sellers.

------------------------------






On Mon, Feb 9, 2026 at 11:14 AM Mike Jing <gravitys.rainbow.cn at gmail.com>
wrote:

> It was set in Bloomington, IL, where DFW used to live, and the story is
> personal. Not sure how big an area the YP directory covers though.
>
>
> On Tue, Feb 10, 2026 at 12:04 AM Mark Kohut <mark.kohut at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> *Where is The View from Mrs.Thompson's* set, may I ask....?
>>
>> Most Yellow Pages Directories that I am aware of ...and this story was
>> published very near Peak Distribution of those Yellow Page Directories, I
>> learn,
>> so, if it covered any reasonable area, any area including a city, at
>> least, I think it would include a store/place--supply places were big---
>> that sold Flags....many supply stores made sure---paid
>> to get their listings to be seen far and wide
>> because SALES....(capitalism).....so unless this was a very narrow area
>> Yellow Pages area, I would bet it had
>> listings under Flags....
>>
>> I would bet YP listings were chosen because of the usual content
>> everywhere and that (almost) none were empty....
>>
>> Did England have Yellow Pages?....is Mrs Thompson's set there?about which
>> I know nothing re their Yellow Pages...
>>
>> So, I think Wallace was referring to something from that riff of
>> questions if not what I guessed at.
>>
>> But I've been wrong too.
>>
>> On Mon, Feb 9, 2026 at 10:44 AM Mike Jing <gravitys.rainbow.cn at gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> Well, this certainly wouldn't be the first time I was wrong, if it is
>>> indeed the case that Yellow Pages always include a set of predefined
>>> categories even if some of them contain no entries.
>>>
>>> But I don't think the reference is about saving one’s Fourth of July
>>> flags, since nobody would expect such information from the Yellow Pages. It
>>> seems that he was just looking for a place that sells flags in the YP but
>>> found none.
>>>
>>> On Sun, Feb 8, 2026 at 9:48 PM Mark Kohut <mark.kohut at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> My wild guess is that Wallace might be saying that the YP CATEGORY
>>>> reference means that there is nothing under it about saving one’s Fourth of
>>>> July flags per previous sentence.
>>>>
>>>> On Sun, Feb 8, 2026 at 7:54 AM Mike Weaver via Pynchon-l <
>>>> pynchon-l at waste.org> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> The Trials and Tolerance of a Translator by Mike Jing
>>>>> You are of course right Mike and your proofreader needs to loosen up a
>>>>> little. To say there's nothing under... on a list is a way of saying
>>>>> there's no such category on the list.
>>>>>
>>>>> On 08/02/2026 11:32, Mike Jing wrote:
>>>>> > The following excerpt is from David Foster Wallace's *The View from
>>>>> Mrs.
>>>>> > Thompson's*:
>>>>> >
>>>>> > The overall point being that on Wednesday here there’s a weird
>>>>> accretive
>>>>> > pressure to have a flag out. If the purpose of displaying a flag is
>>>>> to make
>>>>> > a statement, it seems like at a certain point of density of flags
>>>>> you’re
>>>>> > making more of a statement if you don’t have a flag out. It’s not
>>>>> totally
>>>>> > clear what statement this would be, though. What if you just don’t
>>>>> happen
>>>>> > to have a flag? Where has everyone gotten these flags, especially the
>>>>> > little ones you can fasten to your mailbox? Are they all from the
>>>>> Fourth of
>>>>> > July and people just save them, like Christmas ornaments? How do
>>>>> they know
>>>>> > to do this? There’s nothing in the Yellow Pages under Flag.
>>>>> >
>>>>> > I assume this means there isn't a category named "Flag" in the Yellow
>>>>> > Pages, is that correct? It seems pointless to have such a category
>>>>> and just
>>>>> > leave it empty, but that's just what one proofreader thinks is the
>>>>> case.
>>>>> > This person is taking everything way too literally and it's getting
>>>>> > tiresome.
>>>>> > --
>>>>> > Pynchon-L: https://waste.org/mailman/listinfo/pynchon-l
>>>>> --
>>>>> Pynchon-L: https://waste.org/mailman/listinfo/pynchon-l
>>>>>
>>>>