The Milltown 4th of July Parade, 2003

Yesterday we successfully did the parade. Comedy of errors. We drove slowly
over to the lineup area..a little late lining up but we did it.

Someone told us "you have a flat tire".

There are 4 tires on the trailer and yes, one of them was flat!!!
Parade1.jpg (68481 bytes)Parade6.JPG (86892 bytes)
Mark Nerys and Glenn Buchholz, (the Teen force assembling it all.) (notice the tire!)

(about the flat tire)


We called the U Haul trailer place. No one answered the phone.

A woman invited the kids on our trailer to join and ride on her float. We
said thank, you but no, we would keep on going....and we did.

We made it almost the whole length of the parade.

The trailer held about 6 kids, 12 yrs old..

working the non stop bubblemachine..

shooting bubble guns and throwing out handfuls of candy.

Parade2.jpg (47813 bytes)KIDS

Clic picture!

In our van we had the two 16 yr olds that worked the day before and that
morning assembling it all, and two 5 yr olds. The two little guys, Jessie &
Dylon, were responsible for throwing out the candy and they did this with
conscience and empathy and with an energy that belied the heat of the day.

We were almost at the end of the parade when "pop" went something and
greenish fluid ran out under the van for all to see. We stopped moving at that point.

Friendly firemen
rushed over to help and slowly guided the van and trailer to side of the
road where we were able to watch the rest of the parade go by..

 fire trucks from every town around!!! this was a big one!

Our float was unique! (Cool close up!)

We did a good thing..all pipes stood the distance.
Pipe Blond was helped to "wave" at the crowd.

The pipe from Camp Daisy stood tall along with Shankar Barua's India pipe and
Istvan Papai's, Judith Rosza's, Amber Shepard, 4 of the New Zealand Pipes,
the 12 ft high rubber hand pipe, Lyka Cox' pipe and Lauren Curtis and the two
pipes from Paul Robeson School.


It was a 6 ft by 12 ft trailer and that was all we could fit on safely in
the span of time we had to prepare. We are glad we didn't push for any more.

After the parade we waited and hour or two for triple A to come and tow the
Van as it would not move another inch. Then another hour for another truck
from U Haul to change the tire and tow it home.

The man that gave the trailer
a tow told me he was from Lebanon and came over 6 years ago. He told me
ordinarily he would have gone home by then...and then he changed our tire
and gave us a tow out of kindness.

Good day! We did it!  Now the pieces will slowly be assimilated for a few
months and give us a break.

Today all the pipes that roe in the trailer went over to the Greek's at the Stone Museum to be assimilated among the rocks and shrubs.

Parade3.JPG (94221 bytes)
(footnote: that is Dawn Reiger's little Rainbow pipe that just came in, glued to the top of the Van.
 

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