Independence Day

I watched fireworks tonight for all the guys who couldn't this year. I woke up early and walked across the park to see my small hometown put on one heck of a parade. As the classic show cars rolled by, I thought about the 4th of July last year - spent on the parade grounds on Ft. Leonard Wood, with 2,000 other soldiers. I remember saluting the flag as we said the pledge of allegiance and getting misty-eyed as the detachment performed the 21 gun salute and the band played TAPS. I thought about how the 4th would be spent next year. Surely, I will be thinking many of the same thoughts; how many people won't be around, the heat, my family, and missing sparklers terribly. I will probably send a portion of the day, closing my eyes and trying to remember what this year had been like.