Standing in the pouring rain on Monticello’s Broadway on Saturday, I had just one thought: Not again!

The Sullivan County Volunteer Firefighters’ Association and the Monticello Fire Department had spent a year putting together the pieces of the county parade. They had dozens of fire companies, EMS services, and police departments all lined up to celebrate the fire service in Sullivan County.

They’d brought in judges from outside of the county to take stock of the very best the county has to offer, set up a whole memorial to pay tribute to the brave firefighters lost on September 11, 2001, planned for a huge celebration at the firehouse on Richardson Avenue.

And for the second year in a row, all of these volunteers who had put in so much time and effort were about to spend it all in a pouring rain storm.

It’s what happened in Livingston Manor last year, when that fire company had put in its own fair share of hours to make the county’s annual event something extra special. Mother Nature battered the Town of Rockland – and hundreds of volunteers – with pouring rain.

Just like last year, they showed up anyway, hundreds of emergency service volunteers (and a few professionals), holding their heads up high and marching down Monticello’s main street straight through the worst of the weather. These are, after all, the same people who climb out of bed at 2am when the tones go off, heading straight into the flames to help their neighbors. A little rain – or a lot of it – was not going to keep them from showing up for their fellow volunteers.

And then, almost as quickly as the storm blew in, it was gone. Right in the middle of the annual parade, the sun broke through the clouds, and the rain let up.

Suddenly, what was a celebration thanks mostly to the sheer grit and determination of the dedicated became a celebration that could actually be enjoyed by all as they shed their drenched dress blues and gathered together for some post-parade fun.

Next year’s parade has already been scheduled for next September with the White Lake firefighters on tap to host. Let’s hope Mother Nature has it marked on her calendar too.