Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Don't Rain on My Parade




Saturday was the annual Webster Groves 4th of July parade. It doesn't get more Americana than Webster Groves with its July 4th activities. The carnival, complete with the Lion's barbecue, Miss Webster competition, fireworks and an old fashioned parade something for everyone. Adding to the excitement of this year's parade was the fact that the Anheuser-Busch...errrr, I mean InBev, Clydesdales were leading the parade. In the past such an honor has been bestowed upon the much larger downtown parade. The parade begins at the local high school at 10:00 a.m. As usual, the weather people were wrong in their prediction for Saturday morning. A "chance of rain" turned into a a steady downpour for most of the morning. Was the parade on or off? Thinking that City Hall may have jumped into the 2000s and posted an update on their website, I logged on to take a look. No such luck. Come on City Hall - get with the tweeting! What I did find online, however, was a friend with a posting on Facebook about the parade. A rain delay until 11:00. How did she know this, I asked? Her son is in the band, so she kept us up to date. God I love the internet!

The others who were to attend the parade with us bailed due to the rain, so Jim, Kirby the cockapoo and I grabbed our lawnchairs and some water and walked the two blocks to our favorite seating area. I was surprised at how many people were already gathered for the parade. I don't know if they heard an announcement elsewhere, because they couldn't all have kids in the band! The parade was really good, as usual, but having the Clydesdales was a great treat. Kirby wasn't so sure about them, but with his black and white coloring he could have ridden up on the wagon with the dalmation. The horses were followed by three tractor trailers, making their way precariously through the tree-lined streets. Speaking of horses, the mounted girl scout troop apparently was concerned about bringing their horses due to the earlier rain, so they "rode" stick ponies. Funny! There were fewer politicians this year, which was a blessing even if it did make the parade shorter.

A cooler, overcast day made for a pleasant parade for all. "Nobody, no, nobody, is gonna rain on my parade."

1 comment:

Mrs. Wryly said...

I wondered if your family went to the parade! I've been to the WG parade and it's very Mayberry, although having the Clydesdales was definitely world-class. Glad that the rain did not stop the marchin'.

And, glad that Katie is home safely.