Parade

We attended a Christmas parade a few weeks ago. I think that officially it was a Winter Holidays Parade, but the actual participants seemed eager to let us all know that they were all about the Santa and/or the Christ.

There were an awful lot of church floats, offering dueling interpretations of mobile, living creches. We got invitations to attend church. And candy. There was also a lot of boy scouts, cub scouts, girl scouts, and brownies, looking all cute and cold. They were less overtly religious. They still had candy though. There were some folk in old cars (though not as many as in Michigan parades), who threw candy. The people on horseback threw candy. The marching band did not throw candy, they played instruments instead. They had people walking alongside them who handed out candy. Then came the fire trucks, ambulances, police cars, and motorcycles. They didn't have much candy. Last of all came Santa on the back of a cherry-picker. He "ho-ho-ho'ed" at us and whipped a candy cane at our heads.

Sometime in the past, oh, twenty five years or so, parades have developed a candy-throwing aspect that didn't exist when I was a boy.

Sophie had a delightful, if slightly cold time. She also had two lollipops and part of a candy cane. There was no way she wasn't gonna be eating her some candy at that parade.

She still lets us know, every single time that we pass the street corner on which we stood, that there was once a parade there.

"One time they marching band here! And, and, and, they gives me candy!"