FORT DAVIS — Folks who know me well still question how a woman from Chicago can find contentment in the small towns of Texas. For 22 years, I've answered these questions in a chatty sort of way. As of this weekend, my response has been edited to one word — parades.
For years, my time has been divided between Nacogdoches in Deep East Texas and Fort Davis in Far West Texas. I have the best of both worlds.
City folks have visited my husband and me in East and West Texas. They've seen the sights and been wined and dined. They've enjoy themselves, but they still don't get it.
That's because visiting a town doesn't clarify anything. It's day-to-day life that shows a community's integrity. Since that can be taken for granted, parades are held to remind us of those things that hold us together and make our community work.
Each year, weather permitting, I review the spirit of my community as it marches through town. In Nacogdoches, it's the Nine Flags Festival with its lighted Christmas parade. In Fort Davis, it's The Coolest 4th with an Independence Day parade.
The Nine Flags Festival makes for good subject matter in December, when the weather is cold and crisp. But this weekend, with Fourth of July temperatures threatening to hit three digits, I am a cool red, white and blue.
This will be the sixth year my husband and I attend the festivities. We have it down to an art. We'll arrive in town before 9 a.m., park the truck along the parade route and attend the pet contest held across the street from the Jeff Davis County Courthouse.
Meanwhile, "The Great Parade" will be lining up at St. Joseph's Church, ready to head south on State Street (State Hwy. 118) toward the courthouse. Larry Francell, who refuses the title of parade organizer, has promised that this year "there will be no theme, no particular order, it will be a free for all like every other year."
He said, "The parade is a success if the sheriff (who leads the parade) gets past the courthouse before the last group leaves the church parking lot."
Along that strip of road is where our story lies. If the parade holds true to form, we will stand and salute as the color guard passes. The men, dressed in 19th century military outfits, come from the Fort Davis National Historic Site.
Trail riders will pass by on horse back. Collarless dogs will run along side. There will be children on bikes and skateboards, teens riding ATVs and collectors in vintage cars. Veterans on motorcycles will remind us to support our troops.
Local business owners, high school cheerleaders, 4-H members, and Prude Ranch campers will be in the parade. Friends of the Library, Grand Companions Humane Society and Food Pantry volunteers will come into view.
U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, volunteer fire, rescue and ambulance services will make an appearance. We'll wave. We'll cheer. And when it's all over, we'll head to the courthouse lawn for barbecue.
Parades showcase a community, its past, present and future, its talents, interests and hobbies, its kindness, compassion and ability to play. Parades give us pride and a sense of belonging.
Chicago, my hometown, is near and dear to my heart. It made me who I am today. But in the 40 years I lived there, I never attended a parade.
