I should have posted this earlier, and certainly could have, but no excuses I'm here now. I was once again privileged to be a "guide" for First Friday and must say I thoroughly enjoyed it. Though it was much colder this month it didn't seem to cool the spirits of those who participated. Instead of remaining stationary on the Northeast corner of the court house square, this time my friend and I were charged with going to each business and leaving maps and other materials for them to pass out to their customers. We headed West along Walnut, North up Buckeye, East on Mulberry then jumped across to Walt Moss's Barber Shop and Jamie's. From there we stopped at Main St Cafe and Blye's before crossing the street and going South on Main to Planet Mind where we met up with another guide who had gone a different direction.
This was the first time I had gone into many of the businesses that were open and it was good to see what each was doing for their guests/customers. Due to the cold and the fact that most people were on the square for the lighting of the tree and other decorations, we didn't see many customers. I hope this changed later but I suspect many left after the lighting. There is always so much going on in December with Christmas shopping and events, many indoor sports, etc. Hopefully in the coming cold months we will have enough moderation in temperatures and fewer things demanding our attention that people will make the effort to support the uptown businesses on First Friday.
As you can see above the Charlie Brown Christmas Tree and Snoopy are among many of the lighted decorations around the square. The flagpole tree is lit as well as the wreaths on the light posts. The town looks very festive indeed. If you haven't been around the square after dark yet be sure to add it to your light viewing list along with Highland and We Care Parks.
I hope you've all voted First Friday as the best free entertainment in Kokomo, but whether or not it comes in at #1, it is well worth your effort to attend. It takes a little more dedication in the winter months but remember...pretty soon it will be spring!
If you'll bear with me for a moment longer, I'd like to say just a little about The Salvation Army's Service of Hope and Healing that I attended tonight. I had seen on television news and in the paper that this was taking place and decided to go to support those who were affected by the recent tornado's. I actually live across from the Key Bank on East Hoffer St and was home when the tornado hit. It was very frightening and my house sustained damage but nothing like many of the houses in the Bell St and Cedar Crest areas. I was without power for 3 days but was able to stay with a friend after the first night.
There were 2 TV stations at The Salvation Army Church when I arrived but I was saddened when I went in that there were probably less than 40 people in attendance. Many of those were members of the church, Red Cross, United Way and Rescue Mission. It appeared there were only 5 of us there who were directly affected by the storms. The aim of the service was to provide hope, healing and additional information to those affected and provide support where needed. These agencies all put forth the effort to come together to provide whatever additional help and information was needed and it was disheartening that so few attended. Have we really come to a point where we no longer feel the need for hope and healing after this type of event? I hope not. While I really had no need of the services provided by these people I am so thankful they were out there helping those who did. The people of Kokomo, and other communities, stepped up in a big way to help with clean up, but these agencies are in it for the long haul and should be supported.
Merry Christmas & Happy New Year to all. Thanks for listening.
