Franklin Fun

I've mentioned here that the town of Franklin is so cute. A picturesque main street lined with shops and cafes. Friday night we stumbled upon a main street festival that I know will end up being one of my favorite things from the whole summer. It was the grand opening of the Franklin Theater, and it was a Big Band/Swing Dance festival. There was a big stage with swing bands playing all night. In 3 different sections of the town, they were showing old black and white movies on huge screens with people sitting on blankets, eating hot dogs and frozen lemonades. Locals were dressed up in costumes from the 20's and I felt like I'd just stepped onto a movie set.

After walking up and down the street for a while, eating great food, and people-watching, we settled down in one of the side streets and started watching The Wizard of Oz about halfway through. I honestly think the kids are too young for the movie, but being outside held lots of distractions that made The Wicked Witch of the West a little less frightening. At least that's what I am hoping. And speaking of scary, Ross and I had forgotten how absolutely disturbing those swarms of  monkey-birds are. Oh my gosh, those things are downright creepy. I made the boys cover their eyes for that part and for the part where the witch is going crazy trying to lock them up in the castle, but otherwise, the bright colors and over-the-top acting was so good.

I have always romanticized the early-to-mid 20th century. The clothes, the art-deco architecture, the patriotism and work ethic, the simplicity without all the technology taking over. I was actually thinking earlier this week how funny it is that I can feel so nostagic about a time period I've never even experienced. I know it's romanticized out of proportion in my mind. But I just seem to love everything about that time period from the 20's to the 50's. And it's so hard to imagine anyone ever feeling that way about right now. How could our hoodies and skinny jeans feel to someone in 80 years the way pencil dresses and cap sleeves feel to me? How could our brick builder homes with the tiny concrete stoop feel like old craftsman or victorian houses with wrap around porches, stained glass windows, wooden shutters, and scallopped shingles? It doesn't seem plausible. But I suppose that in 80 years all of our styles will be cool to someone. It all goes around in a circle anyway, cycles repeating themselves. But I'm getting off track.

At the end, as we were getting ready to leave, we came upon a stage with a fantastic band belting out swing music complete with a jazz trumpet and people dancing in front of the stage. I stopped and felt myself wanting to get swept up in it, wanting to be 20 again, on a date with Ross, dancing all evening. But then I look over and I've got 3 tired kids, sitting on the stroller, whining about wanting another sno-cone. I wanted the director to walk in a say, "Cut. Cut. What are your kids doing here? Get them to the trailer and let's do that scene again without the whining. You two go out there and dance."

But, of course, that didn't happen so I took one last wistful look at the cute people dancing in their cute costumes and walked to the car. A quick trip at Sonic (because we somehow missed the sno-cone stand) and we were on our way. I love Franklin. I've heard they have a Dicken's festival at Christmas complete with a Scrooge. A Scrooge.