Three cheers for the red, white, and blue
One of the things we like about being back in the States is our neighborhood. It's a reasonably tight-knit community (by big-city standards, at least), and we're especially lucky that the block we live on has a bunch of kids right around Mädchen's age, so it's the sort of place where, if it's a nice day out, you can try to go for a walk around the block and never make it to the end of the street because everyone is outside chatting.
Among the things our neighborhood is known for is its annual Fourth of July parade. It's not the sort of parade where you have to get there early to stake out a good seat, or where half of the parade entrants are local realtors driving around in convertibles. Nope, this is the kind of parade where you can show up right when it starts (but not too late, because it really only lasts for maybe 10-15 minutes from start to finish), and where pretty much anyone can be in it, including all of the neighborhood kids who deck out their bikes and wagons for the big event. It really is a taste of small-town America in the midst of a big city. Most of the folks in the neighborhood (or at least those who aren't traveling for the holiday) seem to turn out to see it, and it was interesting this year to see how many people drive in from other parts of town to see it. Since there's really nothing that special to see, I think they do it because it's such a nice little show of community spirit. And I should add, this isn't a rah-rah, red-state type of thing at all...everyone may be wearing red, white & blue, but "Impeach Him" and "Obama 2008" signs far outnumber those for McCain in our neck of the woods.
For the second year in a row, I went in Gretchen and Mädchen's absence. This is it in a nutshell:
After the police motorcycles went by (no fire truck this year, which was strange), an honor guard came by ahead of a makeshift neighborhood marching band (and I just noticed that on the left side of the photo, that's our next door neighbors and their dogs cheering them on)...
...followed by the annual appearance of Uncle Sam...
...and then loads of kids on bikes...
...and that's about it. God Bless America!
Among the things our neighborhood is known for is its annual Fourth of July parade. It's not the sort of parade where you have to get there early to stake out a good seat, or where half of the parade entrants are local realtors driving around in convertibles. Nope, this is the kind of parade where you can show up right when it starts (but not too late, because it really only lasts for maybe 10-15 minutes from start to finish), and where pretty much anyone can be in it, including all of the neighborhood kids who deck out their bikes and wagons for the big event. It really is a taste of small-town America in the midst of a big city. Most of the folks in the neighborhood (or at least those who aren't traveling for the holiday) seem to turn out to see it, and it was interesting this year to see how many people drive in from other parts of town to see it. Since there's really nothing that special to see, I think they do it because it's such a nice little show of community spirit. And I should add, this isn't a rah-rah, red-state type of thing at all...everyone may be wearing red, white & blue, but "Impeach Him" and "Obama 2008" signs far outnumber those for McCain in our neck of the woods.
For the second year in a row, I went in Gretchen and Mädchen's absence. This is it in a nutshell:
After the police motorcycles went by (no fire truck this year, which was strange), an honor guard came by ahead of a makeshift neighborhood marching band (and I just noticed that on the left side of the photo, that's our next door neighbors and their dogs cheering them on)...
...followed by the annual appearance of Uncle Sam...
...and then loads of kids on bikes...
...and that's about it. God Bless America!
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