All Roads Lead To Bristol

My name is Gary Long.  I was raised in Bristol, Indiana, although I have lived in Columbus, Ohio for the past 24 years.  On July 3rd I will start walking approximately 250 miles from Columbus to Bristol, hopefully arriving in time for the Bristol Homecoming that starts on July 12th  I completed this trek in 2014 as a personal challenge, just to see if I could do it.  I am doing it again this year as a statement to the people and town that I love:  All Roads Lead to Bristol.

 

I would like to raise $1693, which represents $1 for each member of the Bristol population as of July 1, 2017. 100% of donations will be allocated in support of the Bristol Homecoming fireworks in hope that they will continue to inspire, excite, and surpass anything you will see on the 4th of July.

 

I grew up in Bristol, and I will someday end up in Bristol, dead or alive. Right now I am a 62 year old kid who has never grown up. Summer has been, and always will be my favorite season. Some of my favorite childhood memories are of my experiences at the Bristol Homecoming.  From a kid's perspective, the Homecoming was the perfect opportunity to run around town all day without the supervision of pesky parents. 

 

Those of you from my generation will remember that the Homecoming parade had high school bands that marched in full uniforms and regalia (I also marched in the parade as a proud Cub Scout; Den 1; pack 31). The rides and games cost only 25 cents. The elephant ears were bigger then, and the cotton candy was rolled onto cardboard sticks, right in front of your eyes.    You could throw away your loose change at the penny pitch, with Claude King keeping watch to make sure you didn't cheat.  When you ran out of pennies and you thought you were done for the day, there was always a chance that Chet Sparr would leave a few coins on your bicycle seat when you weren't looking.  And who can forget the guy relentlessly hawking $1 tickets for Cornwallis, the corn fed steer??   I know you remember, and you're smiling right now.

 

Of course, the highlight of every Bristol Homecoming has always been the fireworks.  I still get a rush of adrenaline every year when I hear the first test explosion, knowing that the show is about to begin.  As a kid, the anticipation was almost unbearable. I remember one year in particular when I was about 7 years old, when a few friends and I watched the fireworks from the bank of the St Joe River at Hermance Park.  We pretended that we were under nuclear attack from Cuba (remember the Cuban Missile Crisis?).  As the "atomic bombs" exploded over our heads, we practiced the Duck and Cover maneuvers that we learned during bomb drills at school.  In retrospect it seems a little twisted to have such fond memories about such a scary time in our nation's history, but childhood memories are not subject to adult interpretation.  They are what they are, and I would not trade them for anything. 

 

I want future generations of kids to have as much fun as I did at the Homecoming so that they, too, can create memories that will last a lifetime.  I hope that you will contribute to this worthy cause.  Your help and support will be evident at the fireworks!!

 

I want to give a special shout out to Chuck "Old Sparky" Feldman and his family of torch bearing henchmen who have rained fire and brimstone on us every summer for decades.  Ironically, the Feldmans have never been arrested for disturbing the peace, and have never shown mercy or remorse for their evil deeds.  This is exactly as it should be.  After all, it is the Bristol Homecoming.