My Dog Wears Diapers

The last population estimate I saw for Boerne put us somewhere in the 10,000-person range, so we’re starting to outgrow our training wheels. Still, Boerne is a small town in many ways, some of which—politics, for example—tend to angry up the blood a bit too much. However, there are a few things that Boerne does just as well as a large metropolis.

Parades are a good example—we love a good parade in the Hill Country. Indeed, we love them so much in Boerne, we regularly hold ones that last 3-4 hours. We don’t care if it’s blazing hot or freezing cold; every truck, trailer, and go-kart in Kendall County is required to participate. And you shouldn’t dare leave until the last one passes you.

We also bring out the big guns on July 4. I give all the kudos in the world to the Boerne fire department, as they put on a show that rivals those of much larger communities. In fact, almost the whole county turns out, parking at the fairgrounds, the high school, and the side of Highway 46. The coolers and collapsible chairs come out, the music gets turned up, and, before long, it looks like a NASCAR race.

This year’s show, while shorter than I recall previous shows being, didn’t disappoint. I assume the shorter play time was likely related to the massive drought affecting our area; we haven’t seen meaningful rainfall in a full year. In fact, most fireworks sales were banned in this area. Nuts to that.

I caught the finale on my iPhone, so you can judge for yourself: