The Detroit summer festival season was kicked off this weekend with the Downtown Hoedown ^[1].  I am not a connoisseur of country music but I do like a little country now and then; I also have a fascination for cowboy hats and the people that sport them.  This year was my first at the largest free country music festival in the nation.  Overflow from the Wings and Tigers games on Saturday contributed to the sea of attendees and packed People Mover.  One could only navigate the festival grounds with the ebb and flow of the crowd.  Local retailers were packed with out-of-towners eating and purchasing supplies to make it through the weekend.  It is going to be a grand summer in the city.  The thing most disturbing to me at the festival was the presence of the Marines’ tent.  Young men were stepping up to the challenge and parade of completing as many chin ups as possible for the city to see.  While men and women in uniform are much appreciated, the reminder of active recruiting for this war is frightening.  My fear is that it will not stop any time soon.