This year we were a little disappointed in parades. The kids have only seen one parade and that was a 3 years ago and they rode in it, so they did not get to see it. Most parades last at least a half an hour and if you are not at the parade route when it start you can jump into the end of the parade and still get to watch the whole thing. Well in Albion if you are 10 minutes late you will have missed the one tractor, two fire trucks and ambulance and a couple of other things that walked through the couple of blocks of parade route. Fortunately we were able to run down to Meadville after missing the 9:00 parade and see the 10:00 parade. This parade was also short but long enough to be considered a parade.
Observation#1
The Meadville Area Senior High marching band did not have to wear hot and sweaty and certainly odd looking uniforms. They still sounded good although they were not aesthetically appealing.
Observation #2
The Civil War era ladies looked like ladies and although I am sure the ladies today would not want to dress in hoops...they would probably look allot better than how most dress today.
Observation #3
The soldiers knew exactly when to fire their guns - right in front of us. Somehow they knew that Julia hates loud noises. For that...My hats off to the guys that like to pretend war. As I watched each reenactment group come through I could only imagine none of them ever experienced battle. If they had I am sure they would not have wanted to rehash it in their mind, but it sure does make for nice scenery and noise in the parade.
Observation # 4 & 5
The crowd was sparse...which was good as it gave us front row seats just before the squad car leading the parade drove by. As a kid you had to pick your spot an hour early and park your lawn chair if you had hoped to be able to get candy that was thrown. This brings us to another observance..the scarceness of candy thrown. At least with the sparseness of the crowd it made for more candy per child and our kids did good with some tooth rotting sugar concocted chewables that will make their dentist happy.
Observance #6
The classic and antique cars that drove by...hey those were cars we had when I was a kid. Funny how 30-40 years changes what is an antique. I will admit riding around in the 70's was way cooler than today and also way warmer. I guess it depends on the season for both. The muscle car era was a great time to see the cars of the late 60's and early 70's driving around. Makes me want to go buy an old 69 or 70 Chevelle SS with a 396 in it and just enjoy driving it around. You just have to admit those older trucks just look way cooler than the ones today!
Thanks to all who served in our Armed Forces and Special Thanks to those who fought in combat and those who lost their life protecting our freedoms.
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