Memorial Day - After a rainy yucky Saturday and Sunday, we got lucky and Memorial day itself was quite nice. I got home from dialysis at the usual 5 am and instead of going straight to sleep (makes too much sense) I had to watch an old episode of NCIS LA... so I slept from about 6 until 8:30. I reluctantly got up and got ready for the parade. Tay was overnight at Ang's and Ashleigh was overnight at Debi's so it was a quiet house as we got ready. I sent Scott to get Taylor and then I took her to the meeting site. I was the first adult from our Girl Scout Troop there. There were about 5 girls there when I arrived. My other adult volunteers showed up within minutes and I left Doris with about 8 girls and headed down to get a spot on Main St. for the parade.
I was really surprised that it was as easy as it was to get a prime spot in front of the businesses on Main St. In past years these spots would have been taken early... but not this year. I walked across the street to the spot my husband had found and sat in our lawn chairs on the side of the road in front of his car. There was no crowd at all. As it got closer to 10AM (parade start time) a few more people meandered about. They made introductions from the stage and slowly the parade could be heard coming down the hill. Most years the Scouts are right behind the Legion in the beginning of the parade, this year the band somehow ended up in front of the Scouts. This made it more difficult for the Scouts to be in position as the speeches began.
Every year, for the past few, the Girl Scouts have read Red Skelton's Pledge of Allegiance speech from the forties. This year Sam and Stephanie (fourth and fifth grade) read the speech for the town. They were introduced and stood on stage behind the podium. Unfortunately, both girls are quite short and could not exactly be seen because of the podium. They could be heard though, thanks to the speakers and microphones. They both did a very nice job. The speech is a two person explanation of the Pledge of Allegiance - the first speaker basically says the pledge and the second speaker explains each part. I like the speech, but I really wish we could do something different each year, or a rotation of different speeches. We have done this exact same speech every year since 2006
They were then asked to bring the wireless microphone over to the cemetery for the bugle and drum to be heard. Note to self... turn OFF mic before sending little girls a half mile down the road with said Mic. Needless to say, the mic had to be unhooked from the speaker system as the girls skipped down the road with it, oblivious to the LOUD hideous noises it was creating... but it was all good... the mic was re hooked in for the bugle and drums to play their tributes and the girls returned in good spirits.
The speeches were good, hard to hear and too long for the audience to stand through, but interesting, for those of us paying any attention. Eventually the parade continued to Norcross Point and the chaos of locating the kids and their parents was fun as usual.
Overall it was a success, the girls who marched had a good time and the girls that spoke did a wonderful job...
Until next time... write on!
Every year, for the past few, the Girl Scouts have read Red Skelton's Pledge of Allegiance speech from the forties. This year Sam and Stephanie (fourth and fifth grade) read the speech for the town. They were introduced and stood on stage behind the podium. Unfortunately, both girls are quite short and could not exactly be seen because of the podium. They could be heard though, thanks to the speakers and microphones. They both did a very nice job. The speech is a two person explanation of the Pledge of Allegiance - the first speaker basically says the pledge and the second speaker explains each part. I like the speech, but I really wish we could do something different each year, or a rotation of different speeches. We have done this exact same speech every year since 2006
They were then asked to bring the wireless microphone over to the cemetery for the bugle and drum to be heard. Note to self... turn OFF mic before sending little girls a half mile down the road with said Mic. Needless to say, the mic had to be unhooked from the speaker system as the girls skipped down the road with it, oblivious to the LOUD hideous noises it was creating... but it was all good... the mic was re hooked in for the bugle and drums to play their tributes and the girls returned in good spirits.
The speeches were good, hard to hear and too long for the audience to stand through, but interesting, for those of us paying any attention. Eventually the parade continued to Norcross Point and the chaos of locating the kids and their parents was fun as usual.
Overall it was a success, the girls who marched had a good time and the girls that spoke did a wonderful job...
Until next time... write on!
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