More Pictures from the 4th of July

It was a bit of a stretch to be in the parade and to be concerned about taking pictures as well, but there you have it. I took the camera with me and just kept turning around and clicking off pictures. They will, at least, give you some idea of the zaniness of a Holden Village parade. It is more a spontaneous "Happening" than anything else, but great fun is had by all and if you want to be in a parade, you just grab a costume or improvise a costume and jump right in.

Actually, this '"root beer float" pictured on the left was one of the more inventive entries in the parade. It was created and entered by the Snack Bar and featured Joseph Coffey (age 14) as a root beer float...froth and foam included. He was pushed down the parade route...and back again, as the parade makes one pass down the main road, then turns around and comes back down the road just in case someone missed something they might want to see for the first time or something they might want-to-see-to-believe on the second pass.

I will (I think I have figured this out) include a sampling of photos so that you will have an idea of how far we will have to go to rival, say, the 4th of July parade in Boston or New York or Washington, D.C. or San Francisco. Surely, I jest!

The kitchen volunteers elected to carry the huge alpenhorn that normally hangs on the wall in the dining hall. This thing does still work...provided you can find someone with enough wind to blow it...not a pretty sound but a sound.

Holly and Jolly, two of Santa's elves extol the virtues of the book store and remind people of the number of shopping days until Christmas.

The repair associates walked-the-walk with their tools.

Chuck Carpenter (in real life the head of Operations) was the Santa Claus for the book store entry...reindeer, Rudolph, and elves included. The sad-eyed "head" behind Santa ironically has "Share the Wealth" written on its forehead!

Nona (far left) and friends.

And I just don't know about Katie and the mouse trap affixed to her head...a story there somewhere.