June 30, 2022
Dear editor;
I know this year has been a very frustrating year for all of us. Coming off two years (2020 and 2021) in isolation, for many of us, was a challenge, to say the least.
I have read many of the comments on Facebook and it is easy to understand how many of us are at wits end (with no more hair to pull out).
It was great to see the Aurora Memorial Day parade take place and finally find something to put smiles on faces as many of us finally left the confines of our homes to let our hair out when the parade passes.
Then frustration set in again when word gets around that the Fourth of July Parade, in Aurora, the second largest city of Illinois, will not be like we are used to and it appears that there will be little to no participation by the public such as we have witnessed in the past.
So Facebook is flooded with disgruntled let- downs again.
Being the wife of a combat veteran, knowing how the veterans of Aurora attend this parade, I can only imagine what was going through everyone’s mind when they heard that the Fourth of July parade is canceled!
Even though we will not be able to attend this year, I want to extend my gratitude and thanks to AVAC (Aurora Veterans Advisory Council) for taking the initiative and running with it by their self-preservation and the initiative of the veterans to get with city officials so there is a way in which veterans can participate and contribute to the community. AVAC, contacted other veterans’ organizations In the vicinity so they can show their commitment and respect to Fourth of July in the way that John Adams wanted it celebrated. John Adams, who said of Fourth of July: “It will be celebrated with pomp and parade, bonfires and illuminations from one end of this continent to the other.”
Based on the support of veterans the roster of potential participants AVAC’s efforts were successful.
Thank you AVAC for your commitment for covering our back!
Lin Toma, Aurora