http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x5721514Oh my. The weather must have been good, up over there in Michigan.
By the way, the "twins"--this was when my respect and esteem for LibraryLady at our old home plummeted way into the basement. Apparently when pregnant with the twins, the Idiot Briggs primitive had some serious problems, but fortunately everything came out okay.
LibraryLady "felt sorry" for the Idiot Briggs primitive, and thought one shouldn't "pick on" her, because of that. Which of course was patent nonsense; a difficult pregnancy and really stupid politics are two wholly different things.
Anyway.
IdaBriggs (1000+ posts) Tue May-26-09 11:34 AM
Original message
Went to a parade yesterday with my 2 year old twins.
Its their second Memorial Day, and let me say, it was grand. I took them (again) to the local Memorial Day Parade; the weather was perfect, and the company wonderful -- the parade was filled with local people: our local VFW Hall, several fraternal organizations (Eagles, Shriners, etc.), Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts, Girl Scouts, Brownies, two high school marching bands, the local Harley Davidson club, and representatives from churches, dance schools, boating clubs, vintage cars and fancy corvettes -- you name it.
I won't lie: I got choked up when the parade started and the Veterans began the walk with a slow, measured drumbeat, flags aflying, and uniforms pressed/polished. I think we had some men who served in WWII, and every engagement in between, along with obvious family people who were carrying signs in honor of our missing. "We stand up," I told my children, who really are too young to understand, "to show them we honor them, and appreciate their sacrifice, and their service to us all." My son, who is addicted to flags, proudly shouted out, "FLAGS!" and I smiled through my tears at his simple joy.
What my children loved best, because they are too young to understand, was all of the candy that was thrown. Hordes of laughing children, including mine, scrambled to collect the tootsie rolls and hard candy and bubblegum that were thrown our way. We had some lovely young children next to us who made sure my toddlers got their fair share, and several times I dived after my excited daughter who was willing to run as close as possible to the parading people to get her hands on the candy -- she *got* the whole 'chase the candy thing! -- while my son quickly grew annoyed because he wanted to join in the parade, and we, being evil parents, made him stay close to us instead. LOL! My daughter looked immensely cute in a red, white and blue dress, and I know there was quite a bit of candy thrown directly at her due to her amazing adorableness, and she diligently picked up as much as she could reach, and put it into a bag, while my son, who didn't quite get the whole concept, picked the candy up, and tried to throw it, too, just like the marchers.
At the end of the day, the children who were being so kind to my kids were given an unexpected reward -- my babies can't have half the stuff they collected (bubble gum, jaw breakers, fireballs), and so we emptied the bag, and handed over half the loot; their proud parents tried to give us some of theirs, but honestly, it was more about the chasing than the candy at this point. That, and the laughter, and the shouting, and the cheering.
Yes, I made a point of cheering everyone -- even the Republicans. Yesterday was about being an American, and I wanted my children to see me yelling my appreciation and "yeahing!" all of the people who serve this country, even if I don't agree with their positions. I yelled hardest of all for the Democrats, to be fair, including Gary Peters, our new Democratic House Representative who replaced a Bush Republican. He made a point of coming over and gave each of my kids tootsie rolls, which they promptly tried to eat on the spot, while I laughed, and told him we were proud of him, and to keep up the good work supporting Obama. It was a brief exchange; I like to think my twins are somewhat memorable, and I once took them to a local 'stuff envelope' event before they could crawl, so we've started their activist career early! LOL!
It was a good day. The weather was beautiful, the crowd was friendly, and my throat hoarse by the end of it from cheering; my children won't remember the beginning of the parade, if they remember any of it, but I hope the joy of the day is a bit of love that stays in their hearts forever. And when they get older, I can only pray I will be able to explain the tears in my eyes at the beginning of the parade, and how we honor those who are there, as well as those who aren't, and how we are all members of one family, and how someday, it will be their job to guard those same brothers and sisters who guard us -- with wisdom, compassion, and care, by only asking them to put themselves in harms way as an absolute last resort, and then, to remember forever, even when it is easier to forget.
It was a good day, and we got a lot of candy.
Well, that's all very good and nice, but one remains curious about something else.
Was the non-rent-paying tenant ever kicked out?
bluedeminredstate (1000+ posts) Tue May-26-09 11:46 AM
Response to Original message
1. Thank you for that.
What a beautiful post. It made me remember all the Memorial Day parades in my small town growing up and the ceremony at the cemetary after. Your post brought me back to all those wonderful May days of my childhood.
Your children are very lucky to have you instill the pride and reverence we should feel for those who serve our country. I bet they were absolutely adorable in their red, white and blue!
noamnety (1000+ posts) Tue May-26-09 11:54 AM
Response to Original message
2. My experience was the same - yet so different.
I marched as a vet, and felt very discouraged by being right behind a group that was throwing candy. It was clear that all the focus was on a Barney mascot and on grabbing candy. As we went along the route people were singing the barney song. We may as well have not been there.
Memorial day parades make me uncomfortable because of that. I have mixed feelings marching in it when it seems to be more of a circus and festival atmosphere, instead of a time for remembrance.
Last year I organized a group that carried the faces of all the michigan dead from Iraq and Afghanistan, I didn't identify myself as a vet because I wanted the focus to be on them - on the memorial - not on me. I felt that was far more meaningful, and when I marched with that group the people in the busier areas along the route rose up and stood in silence as we passed - it was like a wave of people rising to their feet, I saw some wiping their eyes. It was somber, and I thought a thousand times more appropriate to the day than singing about barney.
Unfortunately I wasn't able to pull the new faces together for this year and none of the other volunteers could commit to updating them, so I had to cancel that group's participation in the parade this year. Next year, we'll be back in as the Iraq and Afghanistan Walking Memorial Project. To me that's what the day is supposed to be about. A random stranger taped us last year, sent it to the city, and they forwarded the DVD to me. (I was keeping myself anonymous in the parade as part of that because I didn't want to mix my political views with that particular project, and oddly the person who sent the DVD also opted to remain anonymous).
