As mentioned last post we were going to watch the County Fair Parade that is a much celebrated local event. So celebrated that all County schools and government offices and many local businesses close for the day. We also heard that the parade was 2-1/2 hours long. The Rose Parade, I think, is about 2-1/2 hours long, so how can a local small town parade be 2-1/2 hours long? Let me confirm that it was 2-1/2 hours long. They filled this 2-1/2 hours with the 4 County High School bands and all associated cheerleading squads, and anyone that could possibly be associated with the band or sports. I was amazed at how large these bands are. We sat in a very good spot so when they stopped to play they stopped right in front of us. There was every little league football team, cheerleading team, and soccer team that exists in the County. Every elected official and a representative from every police and fire department from every town in the County. I have always wondered do these Officers that are in the parade, do they volunteer, is it random, or is it rotated so everyone gets a turn. It seems like some really enjoy it and are waving and others look like they really don’t want to be there, I guess I need to ask somtime.
It was an extremely humid day, thankful that it was cloudy, otherwise it would have been unbearable. I really felt bad for the kids in the Mascot uniforms. We made it 2 hours into the parade and it started raining. We thought it was just going to be a drizzle, but then the skies opened up. People packed up and ran, we stood under a very large tree (no lighting) and although many went for cover, the hardy moved their chairs from the back row to the empty front row. You could tell the real true parade watchers, they were prepared with their rain slickers and they just sat there. The rain did stop and we finished watching the last 15 minutes. We also moved from the back row to the first row as the parade route had thinned out quite a lot. I felt bad for the kids at the end of the parade as there weren’t many people left, that is why I wanted to stay.
Coming from a large city I never experienced any of these small town activities so when our town celebrates with these special events I feel very strongly that we should support these as best we can. We have been to the 4th of July parade and now the Fair parade, I am glad we were able to attend. Having a full time job I never took a day off to do things like this so although not a major event, it was a “to do” on my list and I’m glad we took the time to attend. It’s really great to see the kids enjoying this parade and taking the time for preparation and attending. Some kids probably think this is a stupid thing to do, but I’m glad there are many that are still holding the tradition together.
So as the parade faded into the distance we decided we had two priorities – eat lunch and a bathroom stop. It had been a long morning and we were hoping to get to our fast food destination quickly, that was wishful thinking. It took us 45 minutes to get to our destination. There were traffic jams everywhere and quickly the euforia experienced watching the parade evaporated waiting in backups that I didn’t think were possible in our town. Finally we made lunch then off to the Fair. Because I was an Exhibitor (I always wanted to say that) we received free admission. What would you expect when there is no school, the parade is over, where do you think the town went to, well of course the Fair. It was packed! But we found a place to park, and once inside most of the kids were in the Amusement Ride section, which we avoid, so wasn’t as crowded as we expected. We watched some sheep that were being judged, I find that very interesting, but have no clue why the ones that are first win. I always think the cows are so pretty, I have the urge to want to pet them. After looking at the animals and watching the judging, off to the exhibtor buildings we went.
I do have to say that I had high hopes of winning something, but I have to be honest and say I didn’t win nothing, zlich, nada. I could lie and say I wasn’t disappointed, but I was. I consider myself a “middler”. Science fairs at school, being picked for a team, even playing bunco, I’m a middler. I’m never the top 3, but always in the middle. I guess that’s OK, and I should be happy I was never last, but you know when you’re a “middler”, it would be nice once in your life to come in first in some contest, no matter how silly. I say I’m not competetive but I think I’ve become that way because it’s easier to accept the middle. But what I will say is that it was fun seeing my stuff I brought to the Fair on display. It was fun knowing that things that my Mom had as a child, or she collected were on display for all to see, it felt good. Better than being wrapped up in some drawer. I think she would have been proud that I did this with her things.
So in one day I did two things on my “to do” list, attended the County Fair Parade and had items on display at the County Fair. It was a good day, and fun traveling down this road. Until next week, take care, have fun traveling down your road and remember to have fun!
A New Road to Travel 