I didn't catch the Geritol hour with Garrison ,but I did take in a local  
July 4th event
last night   
 
Nestled in the forest  of the rolling hill country  there  is small  little 
special grove of  pine and hardwoods that holds an open air  chapel  known as 
the Grove   
I t  was there  I went to see a local program called  Freedom Fest which is a 
small farm community's way of celebrating the 4th of  July in  music and song 
with a surprisingly good A/V made by an 24 yr  old volunteer  amateur showing 
 pictures of the hometown men serving in  Iraq ) 
No tinsel town fluff  here ; the young man mixed a montage of the local faces 
who are soldiers  ;showing them engaged in everything from playing and 
working with children ,to  feeding refugees, to fire fights, to carrying their own 
wounded and dead  under enemy fire , to moments of  relaxation and letters from 
home . 
As the A/V rolled  60 or so  family names were  called out of those men 
serving ,and as each name was called a family member,  grand parent , an aunt 
,neighbor  but most often one of the mans children ; little children that came out 
of the  dark and held the candle for their Daddy that was so  moving. 
One by one they came  and stood with their lit candles .. 
In the meantime cell  phones were calling in from Iraq and a huge cheer went 
out to the men as the  crowd sang God Bless America .... 
.The feelings from  such a moment are deeply personal; the best that I can 
put it was that their  family was our family , 
and our family was one  family , Happy fourth Py…..