“WHAT A DIFFERENCE A PARADE MAKES”

Four years ago while visiting my daughter’s family for Thanksgiving I attended the Johnson City Christmas Parade. She had recently moved here and it was our first visit to see the area. The parade seemed an easy do with a two year old, so we trotted down the street, crossed Walnut Street, and went through a vacant lot to find a spot on the curb of State of Franklin to await the parade.

I found my surroundings pretty dismal. The vacant…