But there were tears at Strosniders Hardware Store in Bethesda. A middle-aged woman asked Craig Smith, one of the store's mangers, if the store had flags in stock. After he told her they were sold out, she started crying.

She was one of at least two people who cried when they were told the store was sold out of flags.

"It's very understandable," said Smith. "I wish we had a flag for everyone."

Flying the flag is "a symbol [that] you care. People want to help. This is one small way," he said. "This is one way they can get involved."

Since the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on Sept. 11, people have been coming into the store in droves to show their spirit.

Frances Kandy of Bethesda said that it is hard to explain why she wanted a flag or what it meant to her.

"Standing together to say it's a union...rage, because there is nothing you can do to conquer this evil. I just want to," she said. "I can't be there with the people."

Smith said that every few minutes someone comes in asking for flags. "We've got thousands of requests for flags," he said. "People want to show they care. They're grieving and not really sure how to show it."

Strosniders, with stores in Bethesda, Potomac and Silver Spring are donating proceeds from flags sold through the end of October to the Red Cross.

The Bethesda store sold out of its approximate 100 assorted sized flags the day after the attack.

Then the store ordered more flags, but suppliers were backed up as requests came in from throughout the country.

Some 250 flags arrived on Sept. 17, three feet by five feet, selling for $15 each. They sold out in an hour.

Strosniders is selling flag lapel pins for a $2 donation to the American Red Cross. So far, the Bethesda store has sold about 1,500.

Next week, Strosniders is expecting a shipment of between 1,500 to 2,000 flags.

Bissell Home Care, Inc of Grand Rapids, Michigan normally supplies Strosniders with flags. Yet, Strosniders also looked to other manufactures to try to get flags quickly.

Mike Best, vice president of sales for Bissell, said that there is a nationwide shortage of flags. After the attacks, the company got orders for a half-million flags, some 25 times their stock of 20,000.

He said there hasn't been this much demand for flags since the Gulf War. The demand then was spread out, while this is immediate.

"We're going to do anything we can to get the flags out as quickly as possible," Best said. "Yes, it's a business. On top of that, we love to serve the American people."

Visit www.strosniders.com for more information.