So I went to the county parade today. I rushed to get there on time because my daughter was in the high school marching band, and I knew she was at the beginning of the parade. In my rush to make sure I didn't miss her marching by, I failed to grab the camera. Once I got there, I found out I was a half hour early. Then I wished I had my book.
In retrospect, I'm really glad I didn't have my book because I did something far more fun. I people watched. I found myself a nice shady spot near a fountain. And you know what? It was nice to see that there really are some things that just don't change. Since I was there early, I got to do a lot of people watching. I found it fascinating that it seemed like any other parade I've ever been to, including, you know, parades way back "in the day." In this changing, technological world of ours, a parade is still a parade. I enjoyed watching the children darting across the street chasing each other, the parents yelling after them. I saw four sets of twins! Yes, four. One set of twins was dressed in matching top and shorts outfits, and they had their radio flyer wagon with their little brother in tow. Have you ever been to a parade where the radio flyer wagon wasn't in attendance? I think not. I watched the one brother struggle with it to get it over the curb. Then he brought the baby brother to the fountain to show him the wonder of the water and the rocks. "There's something under there," he said mysteriously. People sat on the curbs, searching out the shade as much as possible. Then there were the smart ones who showed up with folding chairs and lined the curb with their families. And don't forget the puppy. A puppy on a leash showed up with its family. It bounced all over, just happy to be a part of the day. It made me wish that in addition to my camera and my book that I had brought Miley as well. All of it seemed so timeless. It could have been any year, any state, any county that I was watching them in.
Finally the parade began with its typical entrants. Leading off were the police officers on motorcycles, making fancy "eights" in the road. The flag was then proudly marched by in the arms of men in uniform, and we stood with our hands over our hearts, respecting this great country of ours. There were floats with beautiful young girls, old cars, typical advertisement floats, political floats, people throwing candy and small stuffed toys to the children. And finally the high school band came along. I saw them in the distance, their color guard in perfect sync with each other. I abandoned my shady, cool spot and stepped to the curb. (How I wished for that camera.) I searched for that beautiful teenage face in the band. She wasn't hard to find, and then, typical mom that I am, I felt that twitch of pride. Gee it was just a parade, and gee, she was just marching and pounding a drum, doing a little bounce side to side with the music sometimes, but I was just proud of her, her talent, her beauty . . . her.
It was the time honored tradition of a parade. Nothing much has changed in decades of years . . . nothing much at all.
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