Driving down the highway in my little town is informative. There are signs advertising goods. Signs for small businesses like the Roundtable Pizza or Auto Zone. The flooring store always has a catchy message. This week it said, “Honoring our High School Heroes — Town Parade Down Main — 6/14 — 7pm.”
Finally, someone was honoring our Champion softball team and cheer squad. It was about time. These type of events make their way into my datebook. Born in the 1900’s, I don’t keep a calendar on my phone. I prefer a large daily calendar that has lots of space for notes. Writing in pencil, there are plenty of erasures for those things that get canceled, ignored, or re-scheduled. When I arrived home, I penciled in the word PARADE – 7PM on Tuesday, June 14th.
Parades really aren’t something I love or even like. This parade would be different. Honoring our high school students was a worthy cause. Pretty sure that parking wouldn’t be a problem, I contacted a girlfriend to see if she wanted to join me. She jumped at the chance and we decided to sit in front of Subway under the shade of the Jeep while enjoying a parade and dinner.
Pop up parades aren’t elaborate. There are no clowns throwing candy or marching bands. No car clubs or dancing horses. Yesterday was no exception.
Arriving early, it was fun to sit on Main Street and watch the traffic zipping by. There was a time when taking an hour out of the day to wait for a parade to roll by was unthinkable. Watching all the commuters returning home from work reminded me that once I return to the classroom, I’ll be back in that group of racing rats.
I did hope I’d really seen the sign at all. Could I have imagined that there would be a parade on a random Tuesday night at 7PM? If so, it would add to the fun of the night. Visiting with a girlfriend over a Subway sandwich is never wasted time. The nice thing about being old is that you can get away with not always getting dates and events just right. Eyesight or hearing play tricks on us sometimes.
My friend showed up right on time. After working all day at the hardware store, she was tired. As we caught up on the week’s events, our laughter was good medicine for the two of us. Both widows, we traded notes on the perils of widow’s fog and how deafening silence can drive a woman back to the work place. We both agreed that we hope we are able to work for many years to come.
Right on time at 7PM, the distant honking horns signaling the beginning of the parade could be heard. Coming from the East, flashing lights approached as a caravan of two vehicles slowly rolled up Main at a snail’s pace. The parade consisted of the town firetruck followed by a pickup pulling a flatbed trailer. Atop the trailer sat the 2022 Nevada State Champion Soft Ball Team and National Champion Cheer Squad. Not bad for our tiny town.
This parade seemed to be a private affair held for two old women that honked like there was no tomorrow while waving like loony old bats. Different generations of women exchanging a cheering moment. We were the only people that had come out to cheer our teams. Just like that, the parade was done. And so was dinner.
My entire evening took 45 minutes out of my day, but gave me much to smile about. Small town fun is so different than city life. A memory was made for a tiny little group of people on June 14, 2022. It didn’t make the papers. It wasn’t a national event. Just a little bit of fun that was advertised on a sign off a dusty highway on a wide spot in the road in the high desert plains of Northwestern Nevada.
Look for some summer fun in your town. Remember to check the billboards. You never know what you’ll find.
More tomorrow.