The Battle of...Watertown?

Yesterday, we went to Watertown, TN to wander around the square and hopefully hook up with other members of the artist's guild my hubby is involved with. It turned out they were having their annual WWII re-enactment on the square. The Germans were dug in and the brave Americans were tasked with driving them out. Lots of blanks fired (loudly) and action all around. (I commented to hubby that the re-enactors seemed to be using the same kind of firearms as the folks in the movies do...they can't hit the side of a barn--no matter how close to the target they are or how many rounds they fire. We giggled. I also commented that a couple of the victims were only MOSTLY dead since they tended to shift around trying to find a more comfortable position, heh.)

There was the cutest little boy there...he was dressed in camaflage pants, tee shirt and jacket. He also had a camaflage cap on his head and a toy pistol in his hand. He was having as much fun as the re-enactors. He was playing soldier along with them, but on the curb. This boy was not "trying" to be the center of attention in the way that most some children these days seem to--rather he was simply playing, the way hubby and I used to when we were children...using our imaginations. It was a delight to watch. But it was also a bit sad. The boy occasionally approached other boys to ask if they could come and play with him. The other boys wanted to, but the parents would not allow it. I felt bad for those boys, because it isn't like there was a huge crowd or any real danger of getting lost or anything...

It is really sad that those kids were denied the fun and obvious delight that Camaflage Boy was experiencing.