Liberals on Parade

Well I saw my first hippy parade today.  Well, “hippy parade” is a bit much, but it was certainly hippyish for a Fourth of July parade.  It’s a yearly thing my neighborhood puts on and consists mostly of a bunch of kids on their bikes, which were decorated red, white, and blue, and their ex-hippy-type parents walking next to them.  They had a few cars and trailers with various decorated kids throwing out candy and beads (no, I didn’t have to flash my sexy ta-ta’s).  There were also a few juggling people, an old dude on a unicycle, and a parade queen which may or may not have been an actual queen.  They also had a police escort, though I’m not sure if that was supposed to protect them or us.  

The highlight of the parade is when the Flying Spaghetti Monster made an appearance, attempting to touch us all with his noodly appendages.  Unfortunately, I was a bit confused as to what it was, as it looked to be a bunch of kids wrapped in a brown material, holding long foamy things and toy swords, yelling “Argh!” and laughing a lot.  It had two random eyes sticking out the top.  I thought it was some kind of deranged pirate ship until it walked past and I saw a sign on its back saying “Be touched by his noodly appendage” or some such thing.  And then I regretted not having reached out and being touched.  And for not having brought a camera.

Overall it was pretty fun.  I actually got my five-year-old out of the house before 11:00 A.M. to see it, which was a miracle in itself; though no one else in the house would come.  We’re planning to join next year, and would have done it this year, had I learned about it before 10:45 this morning.  And maybe the Spaghetti Monster will make another appearance and I’ll get closer to those appendages.  It might just make a believer out of me.  

And just to keep things in the political spirit of this blog, I’ll say that this is the liberal community you never hear about from the wingnuts: Adults and kids, having fun on the Fourth of July.  And without a burning flag in sight, no less.  But then again, we didn’t go to the picnic and BBQ that was at the end of the parade, so maybe I just left too soon.  Maybe the fire’s built with flag-logs or bibles or something equally un-American.

Not that I didn’t want to go, but dammit, liberal Fourth of July or not, it was muggy and hot even by Texas standards and I’m not going to melt for some damn picnic.  I may be a liberal, but I do have some standards.