I am so
completely discombobulated by the holiday on Wednesday making it feel like a Saturday which means that
this feels Tuesday-ish. I have no idea how to re-set the chronometer in my head, so probably the rest of July will be like this...three days ahead or behind the rest of the world.
The kids and I went into Jordan for the parade on the Fourth, like we do almost every year. The parade is supposed to start at 10 a.m., but that's really more of a suggestion than anything. This year it started at 10:20, which meant that we waited on Main Street for about 50 minutes because we were early.
In a side note, here...
Jordan's Main Street is approximately three blocks long. I say "approximately" because the block thing sort of gets blurry down by the library end of it. Every year, we call friends and arrange a meeting for the parade, usually parking in the general vicinity of the VFW hall....we'd hate to miss each other in the crush of the crowd and distance of the parade route, you know. Isn't that funny? I mean, I can step out into the middle of the street from where we parked (yes, because there's no traffic; everyone is parked, waiting for the parade) and see who's standing at the end of Main, who's parked at the grocery store, who brought their grand babies, who had a flat tire on the way in. There's no way we'd miss each other. Ever.
Back to the story...
My kids are getting used to waiting for parades, so they pack all sorts of entertainment, just in case; books, snacks, toys, blankets. We look like homeless people, hunkering down for a stay. Seriously.
Here's our friend Eric Fitzgerald, reading a fascinating story about how the human body is put together (complete with detailed illustrations) to a child who is obviously enthralled with the whole experience.
When my kids saw their friends park across the street, they ran and hollered, "Billy Baker!!! Billy Baker and Laney are here!!!" It saved the morning, because they were all able to play tag (I think that was the chase game) and tell big stories.
Here's about 95% of our babysitting pool, all in one spot; the best of the best in Jordan, MT. And no, I will NOT give you their numbers!
AT LAST! Here it comes!
What a good looking bunch of veterans!
Conspicuously absent from the passenger seat is the guest of honor, the speaker for the luncheon after the parade. John Fitzgerald looked all over for him....all three blocks of Main Street...but no dice. ("The Guy" as our babysitters called the missing speaker..."Hey, are you going to pick up The Guy?!" "Can't you find The Guy?!" "You LOST The Guy?!?!?!")
Here's George and Elaine Fitzgerald, in a Model T loaded down with grand kids! You'll see more of them a little later in the post...
Judd Gibson, driving the antique fire truck...
(It should be noted, here, that the Jordan parade is made up mostly of Fitzgeralds driving classic cars and the Jordan fire trucks from every decade or so. But maybe you already figured that out on your own...)
Our friend (or is he?) Clyde Phipps, driving another fire truck. My kids adore him and I don't know why because he tells them awful lies, such as the one dropped on them that morning: "You're here for the parade? Well, you're too late! You missed it! Too bad about the candy..." They truly believed him. I think he threw them extra candy, though, on his pass down Main, just to make up for it.
Billy Baker, checking out the loot before the parade made the loop and came back with more candy.
I want to say, here, that
there's a special place in heaven for the cars that threw the fun size Butterfinger and Snickers bars.
Aw, here they are again! See the two super models in the front, with George and Elaine? Those are Eric and Camie's little girls, Sloan and Jade, who figured out
after the parade that they threw all the candy to the other kids, leaving none in their little bags. Parades are a lot less fun when that little connection is made....
That's pretty much it.
We then went home to get ready for the Glasscocks who came over for supper-but-no-fireworks-please that evening. I didn't take pictures of that, but it was a beautiful way to end Independence Day....no wind, not hot, good food, great company into the night...perfect!
