Memorializing

One of the aspects of small town life that we are still enjoying getting to learn about is the way that various holidays are celebrated/commemorated. We already told you about Halloween, and while we never posted about the New Years celebration in the town square, believe me when I tell you it was a fun time. And yesterday we got to experience our first Smallville Memorial Day. Conveniently, we live between the VFW hall and the cemetery so the parade route went right by our house. And yesterday afternoon I took a break from watching the paint dry and K. and I went out to our front porch to watch. I have to admit that it was quite a sight seeing the number of people lining the street we live on, sitting in their portable chairs and waving their American flags despite the heat and the sun.

And then the parade started. For about an hour we were entertained by marching bands and by antique cars and by scout troops and by lots and lots of veterans, some of whom were actual veterans and others of whom were reenactors, pretending to be veterans from just about every period of American history (yes, even those French-and-Indian-War reenactors). And it was only after the parade that it struck us as odd that the fake veterans got more applause than the real veterans.

It was a nice diversion for a little bit, even if we didn't follow the parade to the
cemetery for the real ceremony. It was interesting being someplace where Memorial Day was treated as something other than a day off and a chance to BBQ and time for the first trip to the Jersey shore. And while small town parades may not have the same oomph as the Macy's Parade or the Mummers, I quite enjoyed the charm.

And now, some photos:







yes, they even had "orphans of the civil war" reenactors