Vicksburg shows out for truckers and America; lets do it again

I-20 in Warren County was lined with people and flags Wednesday night, showing support for truckers and America, and it was beautiful.

The American Freedom Convoy was supposed to come through Vicksburg after a slow roll through Monroe, Louisiana while on their way to Jackson, Mississippi. The time they would be here was always a guess, but 7:30 p.m. was a pretty safe estimate.

Someone posted online to be at the Big Lots parking lot at 6 p.m. or so, and people did exactly that. We saw about 30 people in the Big Lots parking lot and visited with them, including a live report with some high-spirited folks.

After that, we took a ride over to Delta, Louisiana because someone had posted a group of supporters was supposed to be there. Sure enough, a local spot had several flags displayed in the back of SUV and pickup trucks. With time to spare we rode back over to the Sip to see people on the porch of the Welcome Center waving at traffic, but there were only a couple of flags there.

As we headed east on I-20 and topped the hill at Halls Ferry, we could see the flags and people in the Big Lots parking lot. At least another 40 or 50 people had arrived since we last passed through and the Wisconsin overpass was filling up as well. The Wisconsin overpass group was waving flags and the truckers were honking. We visited with that group and took a couple of photos.

While on the bridge we noticed the parking lot at Carpet One and Barnes Glass was filling up so we stopped down there again and spoke with that crowd, including the owner of Barnes Glass and his wife.

The Big Lots parking lot was steadily filling up and it seems every car on the South Frontage was turning into that parking lot. By the time the truckers were expected to be here, the cars were parked four deep in the Big Lots parking lot. We parked in the back and walked up to talk to the crowd that was very excited with anticipation. Each person we spoke with talked about their love for the truckers and America. They had their flags and their friends and the trucks were blowing their horns endlessly in thanks for the show of support.

The American Freedom Convoy hadn’t arrived, but they were supposed to be there at any time. One report said they were delayed in Monroe, another that there was an accident in Texas that slowed them down. Monroe news stations reported the group was supposed to arrive and to expect delays.

One credible source said the group had turned north and bypassed us. A scout that was sent west to find the truckers reported he was past Mound and had not spotted any truckers. 15 minutes later he was closer to Tallulah and reported the same, no truckers convoy.

About 30 minutes after the truckers were supposed to be there, the mood at Big Lots hadn’t dampened a bit. As a matter of fact, more people were showing up and there was a steady line of flags on the South Frontage in several locations. A group was in front of Zsa Zsa’s and some were near the Margaret Gilmer Bridge.

Since the scout was about 30 minutes west of Vicksburg with no sighting of the truckers that meant we had at least another 30 to 40 minutes before the truckers would be in Vicksburg. Some were beginning to doubt they would show, but almost everyone stayed. We took the opportunity to check out I-20 in Warren County. We had been in message contact with people at the armory and knew there were a few people there. The south side of I-20 had people in every place they could be safely seen. As we rolled up to Bovina, there were lights and flags on both sides of the road. The overpass at Clear Creek was packed with people and families waving flags and getting a lot of honks of thanks from the truckers.

We visited with some friends in Bovina and told them what we knew.

By 9 p.m., a full hour and a half after the truckers were supposed to be there, some folks started to disperse. By 9:45 p.m. only a few hearty souls were left out there.

The truckers convoy, to the best of our knowledge, never passed through Vicksburg and it doesn’t seem to matter in the least.

Hundreds of America-loving people from Warren County came out, played music, waved flags and showed their support for truckers. It was a beautiful sight and it wouldn’t bother me a bit to see it happen on a regular basis just because.