(also posted at dKos )
Even before American independence had been declared, let alone won, John Adams was telling us how to celebrate it! Talk about vision!
It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more.
First I’d like to thank the people who are defending my right to celebrate the way our Founding Fathers intended. The men and women of the military, serving wherever Bush saw fit to send them; and the patriotic Americans protesting the war in places like Fort Lewis and Washington DC.
Follow me to the parade…
The local Independence Day parade is the biggest annual event for the community band I play in. Parades are probably pretty similar wherever you are: marching bands, Shriner clowns, veterans groups, Scout groups, car clubs, politicians and beauty queens waving from convertibles. Also the worst enemy of marching bands everywhere: people on horses.
There are some ethnic organizations too – one of the most politically interesting is a large Falun Gong group. Though mostly ethnic Chinese, they aren’t allowed in the Chinese
New Year parade (run by mostly pro-Beijing Chinese). [My band isn’t invited to that parade either, although we always march for St. Patrick’s day and Italian Heritage (previously called Columbus Day).
But before I can parade tomorrow, there is the ritual of the Annual Polishing. I guess the car club guys waxing their beautiful ’57 Bel Airs have to work harder, but it sure seems like about two acres of silver while I’m doing it.
This was about three hours of work.
Still not Marine Band shiny, but the best this horn has looked in the four years I’ve owned it. First Bass ready for action.
So, is anyone else here parading, or watching a parade?
Hope you are marching in light weight clothing today, with a cadre of “horse sweepers” walking in front of the band. I’m a long-time band member, but no longer marching. However, brother who is a band director, and an almost-relative in the Marine Band will be doing their honors in distant places. (Oh, and Simichrome is the best metal polish for silver or brass I’ve ever used. However, that Sousaphone looks pretty shiny, enough to make some blinding reflections in the sun.).
Have fun!
esquimaux, I hope that your instrument is on the ready for it surely will be a hot one here for marching, today…:o)
Maybe they ought to place the horses in the back of the parade..just a thought.;o)
I love parades. You go,
esquimaux. Have fun…hugs BTW, You are very shinny as I can see it from here.
thanks to those couple of you who noticed my first diary.
It was in fact an ideal day to parade; partly cloudy and barely 80 degrees. I’ve done this a couple of times when it was around 95 and that’s much harder work.
When I started marching in the Redwood City parade about 20 years ago, people told me this was the largest 4th of July parade in Northern California. Today someone told me we’re the largest parade west of the Mississippi.
We were the very last band in the parade. When I noticed this and said something to our drum major, he said he’d asked the organizers the same thing and they said “you’re last because people know you and will wait around to see you”.
One of the only units behind us was Veterans For Peace. The man I talked to was sure that it was political, that they were the very last unit in the parade. I’m glad they were there. They may have been small, and last, but I assure you the crowd was still there to see them.