“Ooooh, aaah, that was a good one.” Slap. “Pass me the bug spray.” Slap. “Ooooh, aaah.” The fireworks in Plaid, Minnesota were beautiful last night! We joined neighbors who had set up camp in a completely dark street to watch the display above the trees. It was the first time we had watched from this location – and it was especially good for the sightlines. Only once did we almost get run down by a surprised motorist – who was going way too fast for such a quiet suburban street with no lighting!
Plaid is the perfect in-between place. It is a first ring suburb and firmly established an identity as a small town before the metropolitan area gobbled it up. So, it has an urbane small town feel. Its ambivalence can be observed in its curbs and gutters. Downtown Plaid has full sidewalks, curbs and gutters. But only a few blocks away you will find neighborhoods in which the lawns run right into the street. Our neighborhood has resolved this conflict with a compromise: curbs but no sidewalks. We use the street as our sidewalks – which we can do with out too much risk. The only problem is that cars are getting so quiet these days, and people in Plaid are too polite to honk their horns. I am not afraid someone will run me down when I am walking the dogs, but am left with icky guilt feelings when an occasional motorist is forced to trail me for half a block before my sixth sense tells me to turn around.
Anyway, Daisy is devoted to the Independence Day Parade. This auspicious event exposes Plaid’s very charming small town roots; it goes from city hall, along one of the central arteries, to downtown. People turn out in force, but there is room for all!
After I secured a spot on the curb for Daisy and her friend, I retreated to the sidewalk in search of photo opportunities. There was lots of plaid, but my phone was running low on battery, so I missed a bunch of great things – like the pooper scooper ladies behind the horses.
Daisy has a talent for catching candy that is thrown to the curb, and advocating for freebees. She secured an iced coffee sample for me, and got herself pizza coupons, a Frisbee and magnets. She likes to play lady bountiful with the toddlers nearby, distributing the candy as she collects it.
It was a joyous occasion. This is especially notable because Plaid is pretty much evenly split between Democrats and Republicans. We all were shoulder to shoulder at the parade, however, and no discord was evident. There was enthusiastic applause for one and all: the Police Department, the garbage truck, the fire truck, local merchants, our U.S. Senator, Grandmother’s for Peace, the bands, and the clowns. The longest, deepest applause was for the military contingent – clearly we have learned one lesson from the war in Vietnam: no matter how we feel about the war itself – we must honor our warriors.
I did begin to wonder, at one point, whether this parade was really just an occasion for adults to dress-up. We had lots and lots of clowns, guys and gals in western garb (one cowboy was even standing on top of his horse’s saddle, twirling pistols – that was impressive), there were people on stilts, Wonder Woman and Bat Man along with a few other assorted super-heroes. And, I regret to say, one very cute super-sized Bunny (yet, another victim of Delusional Bunny Syndrome).
The absolute highlight of the parade was the jugglers. There were a couple of hundred jugglers, marching in formation – and juggling! It was an awesome display. Plaid is an epicenter for juggling. In case you didn’t know – there is absolutely no way to watch juggling and not smile. Try it sometime – sadness flees in the face of jugglers, along with discontent and divisiveness. Come to think of it, maybe we should send the Plaid jugglers over to the capital in St. Paul.
Oh, yes. Jugglers are most definitely in my Suburban Survival Kit!
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