The fourteenth annual Military Freedom Fest fundraiser last weekend was my first, and I had a good time at the event. It is nice to see so many in the community take the time on a summer Saturday to show up and support a cause that supports our veterans.

You can take a look at the barren top of my head and tell what the weather was like. That is why I want to thank all of the volunteers who donated their time and work to help make the event successful throughout the day. As I have written before, I have played a song or two in some ugly heat—and the musicians on Saturday did well under such circumstances. Plus, their time was donated.

For me, the highlight of the entertainment on Saturday was the classic country vocalist/guitarist Alex Miller. Alex played a set of tunes that would have sounded right at home coming out of the speaker of an RCA Victrola radio in 1950. No other act—even the more country-leaning acts—that played that day sounded like him. He had a really entertaining and polished stage presence for his age. I predict that more people will be hearing of Alex Miller in the future, especially since he is still a couple of years away from legal driving age!

I had to grin when I approached the Kimberly Square parking lot and saw the massive American flag flying from the fire engine. That took me back to my college days of working at Mahoney State Park in Ashland, Nebraska. We had a similarly sized flag—60 square feet if I recall correctly—that I helped changed out a couple of times a month.

Talk about an adventure!

Anytime the winds crept up above about 15 miles per hour, the job became interesting. I can remember two or three instances in particular where the winds approached 20 miles per hour in gusts, and it became a rodeo. We would have six men trying to attach the flag to the hooks and run it up the pole out of the box without it touching the ground. I have had my feet lifted off the ground a full two feet courtesy of that flag in a good gust! Trust me, that was much more entertaining watching others lose gravity than having it happen to me. My memories are very fond of those times.

Congratulations to the Freedom Fest’s organizer, Doug Day, for his continued success with the event. Check out more on a local veteran getting recognized on A8 of this issue, and look for more Freedom Fest photos in the Summer 2017 issue of Jessamine Life coming in early August!

Speaking of Jessamine Life, we still have a small quantity of copies of the Spring 2017 issue remaining at the Jessamine Journal office. Quantities are very, very limited, and they are first-come-first-serve. If you haven’t gotten a copy, please swing by to grab one and make sure that we get you on the subscription list for future issues!