Ben's birthday fell on that weekend, and our good friends Dave and Erin drove up from Cincinnati just for a quick overnight. They brought steaks, which we grilled up on Sunday afternoon. Then we stayed up late talking, laughing, and playing games. We have so much fun with them, and will be very sad when Dave's fellowship in Cincinnati is over and they move farther away.
The next morning was the Shaker Heights Memorial Day Parade, which Ben was in with his Boy Scouts. I didn't go last year because it was raining and I didn't want to take a super-little Julie out in the rain. Okay, it really wasn't raining that much, and it was more that I just didn't want to go. The weather this year was really great, though, and the parade was so much fun. It had a very small town feel to it. The parade route runs down a street that crosses about a quarter of a mile or so from our house, so we were able to just walk up there and sit on the grass across from the train station.
Waiting for the parade to wind its way down to us.
Here they come!
This guy was the first parade attraction. He got huge cheers. I assumed he was a veteran, but I don't know if there was anything specifically special about him, other than his military service in general. Everyone sure seemed really excited to see him, though.
Color guard.
The world-famous (yes) Shaker Heights High School Marching Band.
Funny story about this guy. I've got him on video down below. He was -- apparently -- really excited that his son was in the band and in the parade. He got right in his son's face with the video camera when the poor kid walking by. The son was trying not to laugh, but to keep facing forward and focus on playing and marching simultaneously. The guy next to him was looking sideways at the dad, probably thinking something along the lines of "Psycho!" Later, when Ben came down the route, Dave flipped open his own video camera screen and ran out into the street and got right up in Ben's face, acting like a proud father. Ben didn't really know what was going on, but they were both laughing pretty hard.
The Shaker Heights High School mascot. I'm not actually sure what it is.
Totally awesome classic car.
Ben's scout troop.
Ben and Dave, after Dave played the "super-proud dad."
This girl was across the street from us, and I was just so drawn to her dress. It was bright and happy and cheery, and it looked beautiful against her super-dark skin tone.
Nope, not waving. Reaching for the camera.
Cool-looking things. At first you might think that there are guys on stilts under these, but it's actually the opposite. They're walking on the ground, but in their hands they hold puppeteering-type poles that control the upper part of the characters.
Another veteran.
Julie is pretending to be shy and hide from Erin.
Now she's smiling, and hugging Snuggle Dog.
We saw my friend Betsey and her daughter Nora in the parade, with the Little Gym section.
The ladies from the library were pushing book carts, which I thought was pretty fun. The wheels were loud on the asphalt of the streets, but the ladies were so cute. They had someone at the head of their group who had sign prompts that said "fan out" and "fan in" and the women would change formation on cue. It was fun.
The fire engine came through at the very end of the parade, with a police car right behind it. The police car was intermittently sounding its siren, which was really really loud. I thought for sure Julie was going to freak out, but surprisingly, she hardly reacted at all.
And some video for your viewing pleasure.
2 comments:
Your parade sounds much less ghetto than ours was. Still, there were similar elements, like Vets, Scouts, and classic cars.
Hey, when are y'all coming over? Jerie is coming over Friday morning around 10 so the kids can play. Is Ben off on Friday? I kind of remember him saying he wasn't working that day.
Yeah for Shaker Heights Memorial Day Parade! It was so fun to see you guys, I didn't remember that you took a picture :) It looks like I'm walking away from Nora :) hehehehe
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