Holding Forth on the Holden 4th

I actually took a number of pictures today of the various 4th of July events here at Holden, but since I had to settle on one for inclusion in today's blog, I chose this one. This one was taken as the parade was "lining up" and preparing to take off down the street. Those of you who have never seen a 4th of July parade at Holden Village can get an idea of the sometimes bizarre extremes that participants resort to, thanks to an extraordinary "costume shop" kept filled to overflowing by donations and nifty purchases at local thrift stores.

This fabulous face mask in the foreground is actually being worn by Allen Storey, a Methodist minister who is visiting Holden for 2 weeks and is a guest lecturer from South Africa. I would add that (in my opinion) he is probably one of the best speakers we have ever had. His sessions are absolutely packed. People literally sit wherever they can find a seat and if they cannot find a seat, they happily stand up for the duration of the lecture. Just before he dressed up in this fashion for the parade, he was in the dish pit taking his turn at scrubbing pots and pans. The 2 men shown on either side of him are also guest lecturers. Each hails from a Lutheran college where they teach.

As always, the day was packed with things to do; the schedule was full. The day began with the official flag raising ceremony which was followed by a fabulous breakfast of crepes...with all sorts of toppings. Then we had about an hour of proclamations and live music outside, after which everyone left to get into costume and to gather for the parade. It is customary for the parade to pass once down the main street of the village and after pausing at the far end, it passes back through the village coming from the opposite direction...just in case you missed something you might want to see the second time around.

The parade took us on into the afternoon and to ice cream sundaes served outside on "the green". It was about this time that temperatures had picked up a bit and the ice cream was very welcome. At any rate, the treat served to tide us over until about 4:00 when we had the joke session, followed an hour later by an outdoor buffet...brats! what else? (To you southerners, unfamiliar with bratwurst, that word is pronounced "brotts"...considered far superior in these parts to the lowly hot dog.)

The evening's entertainment featured a concert, a rousing vespers, the "Holden Fireworks Show," and a talent show...still in progress at this moment.

As for me, I am deadly tired and a bit sunburned from all the outside activities. I, in addition to all the planned events, broke away from the village for an hour or so for a bicycle ride and was in the full afternoon sun for most of that time.

And let's not forget that I need to get to bed early tonight as tomorrow I will undertake my first effort as (drum roll please) a Dish Team Captain! I have the breakfast shift and that starts early...I hope that it starts so early that no one will get up for breakfast and I will have no dishes to wash! no team need be "captained."

Stay tuned. That is not how it will turn out.