The morning, the sunrise, the surf and all the rest were pleasant to contemplate--his age was not.

So he decided not to contemplate it.
Instead he went out and hoisted at the top of the short pole on the edge of the bluff the flag he had set there on the day when the United States declared war against the Hun.

He hoisted it every fine morning and he took it in every night.
He stood for a moment, watching the red, white and blue flapping bravely in the morning sunshine, then he went back into his little kitchen at the rear of the workshop and set about cooking his breakfast.

The kitchen was about as big as a good-sized packing box and Jed, standing over the oilstove, could reach any shelf in sight without moving.

He cooked his oatmeal porridge, boiled his egg and then sat down at the table in the next room--his combined living and dining-room and not very much bigger than the kitchen-- to eat.