4th of July, Push 'Em, Pull 'Em Parade

4th of July

Push 'Em, Pull 'Em Parade

So I should start with this-I don't really like parades. 

I lived 4 years in Pasadena, in (long) walking distance to the Rose Parade, and never went. I've always avoided parades until I moved to Ventura. I think the first one I noticed was the St. Patrick's Day Parade, and I feel like there have been others that go right down Main street two blocks from my house. I don't recall as to whether they were circus parades or what. The Fair Parade goes by too.

My favorite is the 4th of July Pushemm Pullem Parade. The idea is great. Get to the starting point at Cemetery Park, sign up for free if you want and get a badge, and walk to downtown, where the parade ends in a street fair. Nothing motorized, but pretty much anything else goes. 

My family and I have gone pretty much since I realized that it was happening, and every year I ask the kids if they want to be in it. They usually say no, but we sign up to get the free button anyway, and sit on the side, collecting candy and watching people go by, usually saying hi to several that we know.

The last two years, though, my youngest would see a friend and then off she'd go, marching in the parade anyway.

So a few weeks back, she said that she wanted to be in the parade. We painted our 14 year old wooden wagon, then she added flags and other decorations. I pulled out my red, white and blue old skool Converse high tops, some flag patterned Urban Outfitters shorts and the Old Navy USA shirts that we buy every year, and my daughter had her red, white and blue outfit to look the part. I found some 4th of July candy at Winco, and we were set.

My sweet kicks

My wife made fun of my shoes, but I got compliments all day, so no worries. My daughter threw her candy and rode in the wagon down, but walked back home. The street vendors had the usual array of artsy and craftsy stuff, some things interesting but nothing I couldn't live without, and on the whole it was a good time. I felt like there were more people last year, but it was still crowded among the vendors.

The weather was comfortably overcast this year, which made for a very pleasant walk.

But more important than anything else was something I saw about midway through the route. Three generations of a family walking by us, with Grandma draped in an American flag. I couldn't tell the ethnicity of Grandma, but that didn't really matter beyond that she had an accent and so likely wasn't born here. But she was here now, walking in a parade with her children and grandchildren, celebrating the birth of the United States and her right to walk in a parade, wearing an American Flag. 

I don't know if anyone else saw the significance of that woman in her flag with her family, nor really should anyone notice. That she was here this morning, proudly wearing the flag of her adopted homeland and marching in a parade open to anyone, is what it means to be an American.

I don't know if we'll march or sit next year, but we'll be back.

End of the Line