Today my fellow co-conspirators and I took our scout troops to the veteran's day parade.
By about 1 o'clock I was doubting my sanity as the young ones were running circles in the parking lot, rolling and crouching, behaving like that proverbial bag of fleas.
On the up side, the weather was gorgeous! Not a cloud in the sky, 70 degrees, slight breeze.
We found our spots, got each a flag to wave while walking down main street. The turnout was ok, of course at the heart of the festivities there were more than on the rest of the route, plus the street is pretty wide, split in half by a median in parts, so the parade was a bit lob sided.
The girls were great, considering we had only 4 attend (two were sick) and we had to hide one behind the banner, because all that playing in the parking lot was clearly visible!
We made it alright, all the way to the end before we turned back.
Then - here is the important part - a little bit up the road when we walked back, there was this couple sitting there in their chairs, watching. I don't remember much about the woman, but I felt compelled to give this older gentleman the little flag I had carried. He looked at me a little surprised, but accepted, then I realized that tears were running down his face. Not because of my little flag, I am sure.
I don't know what made me look, because he was no different from the other old gentlemen along the parade route or participating...
So taking the time and trouble to walk down a few blocks in a parade can have an impact on somebody's life.
By about 1 o'clock I was doubting my sanity as the young ones were running circles in the parking lot, rolling and crouching, behaving like that proverbial bag of fleas.
On the up side, the weather was gorgeous! Not a cloud in the sky, 70 degrees, slight breeze.
We found our spots, got each a flag to wave while walking down main street. The turnout was ok, of course at the heart of the festivities there were more than on the rest of the route, plus the street is pretty wide, split in half by a median in parts, so the parade was a bit lob sided.
The girls were great, considering we had only 4 attend (two were sick) and we had to hide one behind the banner, because all that playing in the parking lot was clearly visible!
We made it alright, all the way to the end before we turned back.
Then - here is the important part - a little bit up the road when we walked back, there was this couple sitting there in their chairs, watching. I don't remember much about the woman, but I felt compelled to give this older gentleman the little flag I had carried. He looked at me a little surprised, but accepted, then I realized that tears were running down his face. Not because of my little flag, I am sure.
I don't know what made me look, because he was no different from the other old gentlemen along the parade route or participating...
So taking the time and trouble to walk down a few blocks in a parade can have an impact on somebody's life.
