STARKVILLE — There was a smell of hot dogs wafting about the Sportsplex Saturday, and Glen Jackson was proud to be producing it.
A member of Calvary Baptist Church in Starkville, Jackson, 45, said he was eager to volunteer his time to grill hot dogs for distribution to the public to celebrate Independence Day. He was also looking forward to seeing the new fireworks he”d heard about, which were to be choreographed to patriotic music.
He and other members of the church”s congregation were hosting the hot dog and iced tea distribution in the soccer fields; the city”s department of Parks and Recreation had donated the hot dogs.
Some people played catch; others waited in line for more sweet tea and hot dogs. Altogether, about 60 people were on the fields by 6:30 p.m. As in years past, more were expected for the 9 p.m. fireworks display.
“We jumped at the chance to help get out here,” Jackson said.
He based his enthusiasm on sympathy for those who were unemployed, if not deployed. “We take these things for granted a lot,” he said referring to the freedom to gather in public, move freely and celebrate. He appreciated our soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan were defending our freedoms.
Closer to home, he hoped the hot dogs he was cooking up would go to people who lacked the money to buy their own.
Mary Cooper Johnson, 70, spoke of similar appreciation for her neighbors as a reason for coming out.
“I just think it”s a good time for all races to get together and do things,” she said, sitting on the bleachers. “We just get together and have a good time.”
She had come by herself; her husband was at home working on a book about veterans and their relationship to President Barack Obama. She was looking to getting to know some “sweet people,” she added.
Next to her sat Lillian Hodnett, 71, in a lawn chair in front of a walker. She was recovering from the two strokes she had endured this year and was enjoying watching her grandson, Christopher Brackin, 4.
She spoke of the American intangibles she was most proud of, freedom and free speech, but she couldn”t take her eyes off the children bouncing in inflatable structures in the fields. She said she was just happy to be there.
“I said, ”Well, I don”t care if it”s hot; I”m comin” anyway,” she said. She smiled.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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