Franklin Fourth of July Parade

Our neighbor, Jim, is a Colonel in the Army. He is also a Representative for the state of Massachusetts and a lawyer (in his spare time.) We have become good friends with he and his sweet wife Nadeera. As I mentioned they have two little girls and we find ourselves hanging out together often.

Jim loves to watch the kids play outside, so while we were visiting with them the other day he was generous enough to give the kids some of his army gear to play with. Needless to say the stuff has supplied hours of entertainment.

So, every fourth of July, our town has an old fashioned parade. The Vallee's encouraged us to come out and see the fun for ourselves. When Jim, his family, and supporters walked by I think he was really touched to see Abigail and Ben, in their new army gear, holding signs that read, "Thank you Col. Vallee!" The parade was full of veterans, bag pipes, marching bands, fire trucks, clowns, and a lot of politicians.

No matter what your "party" affiliation you couldn't help but join in the patriotism and feel grateful to live in a free country, because countless people like Jim and my dad, (a Vietnam vet.) have made the sacrifices to take a stand for liberty.

After the parade the kids made sure to give Col. Jim the signs that they made. He told us that they are hanging in his office at the state house.

It was a really great day.