Roadshow Revival 2013-A Tribute to the Music of Johnny Cash

Roadshow Revival 2013

A Tribute to the Music of Johnny Cash

Ventura County Fairgrounds

June 15, 2013

Walking in

(I started writing this on June 15. It's now July 31, and what I have learned is to break this sort of thing up into two or three entries. 

Here's the short version-I'll most likely attend next year-and most likely my father-in-law will too. The crowd was calm and friendly.

I really enjoyed the Dave Gleason Trio, the Blasters, Junior Brown, Robert Gordon, the Sideshow Preachers, and Zippy Josh. I felt that Alexandria and the Starlight Band was pretty good. I didn't particularly care for the Vonettes or Chris Shiflett.

On the whole, it was a great show. I'll see you all there next year). 

The first question you might ask is, "What exactly does Ventura have to do with Johnny Cash? Isn't he from Arkansas?"

Well, yes, he was from Arkansas and he died in Nashville. But strangely enough, Johnny lived in Casitas Springs, just outside of Ventura, from 1961 until his divorce in 1966. His first wife, Vivian and his four daughters by her stayed in Ventura. His daughters attended St. Bonaventure-Johnny attended all of their graduations, and Johnny did several benefits and other community activities during his time here.

He also accidentally started a 500 acre fire in the Los Padres National Forest, paying a very large fine.

So, if there's a beach town that should be considered for a Johnny Cash festival, Ventura would certainly seem most qualified to hold it-outside of Jamaica, where Johnny also had a home.

Cindy Cash organized the first Roadshow Revival in 2009, and I attended with my daughter in 2010. The 2010 version was heavy on Johnny Cash tribute bands, and brought up the question-how many times can you shoot a man in Reno on the same day? Robert Gordon was the headliner, playing a set that was terrible with Slim Jim Phantom and Jammie James backing him. W.S. "Fluke" Holland, Johnny Cash's longtime drummer was also there and played a set. It was okay, but the vendors and car show was interesting, and it wasn't that expensive.

I missed the 2011 show, which featured X, the Blasters, Kris Kristofferson and Deke Dickerson. I've seen X and the Blasters several times, but in hindsight, would have loved to see Deke Dickerson. I don't think I knew who Deke was in 2011, but I'm very familiar with his work now.

I didn't want to see the 2012 show with Wanda Jackson and Carlene Carter, so I didn't. 

But this year's line-up I was all over. Headlined by Junior Brown, who I've wanted to see for years, with the Blasters and Robert Gordon, I thought this would be perfect for me and my guitar playing father-in-law. He was unfamiliar with Junior Brown and the Blasters, but I knew he would appreciate the fine guitar slinging that both acts bring. Plus, in the ads, Robert Gordon was advertised with Chris Spedding, another hotshot guitarist who Gordon has recorded with several times over the last 30 years, which I thought would lead to a good set.

General Lee

My father-in-law and I have attended concerts together before (Matthew Sweet [see my 7/23/12 post], Social Distortion, Bob Dylan and BB King) over the past few years, and it's always been a good time. After breakfast at the Busy Bee (see my 6/17/13 post), we went to the fairgrounds.

The festival was set up with two stages, with the car show and vendors set up between them. We weren't searched walking in, but the guidelines said that you were allowed to bring in a chair and a bottle of water. Upon entry, I immediately spied the General Lee, and my neighbor, Coy Duke or as he was originally introduced to me, Byron Cherry. Byron let us leave our chairs under his table, and my father-in-law and I headed off to check out the vendors. On a side note, I must be the only person on earth who's never watched an episode of Dukes of Hazzard.

My Complimented Shirt

My shirt received a couple of compliments walking in, including some guy taking a picture of the back, which I thought was pretty cool. Nice to know that I got the dress code correct...

Cash'd Out was on the main (Get Rhythm) stage, but we walked over to the second (Hey Porter) stage, past the parading, tattoo'd Pin-Ups to see the Sideshow Preachers. About 50 people were standing on the lawn listening to the traditional country harmonies that reminded me of 60's and 70's country singers like Tammy Wynette. I don't remember liking that type of sound in the 70's, but found it very enjoyable on this particular Saturday. I'd read about them in the local paper, and if I see that they're playing somewhere, I'd go see them again.

Sideshow Preachers

Later in the day, I saw singer Erika Harding walking, and complimented her set. My father-in-law, who has the ability to strike up a conversation with anyone, picked up the chat, also complimenting her, and then asking questions about her guitar (a Takamine lawsuit, which from a distance I thought was a Guild). She was very friendly, which was kind of refreshing, and which we also would find to be the norm throughout the day.

Back to walking about, I won a t-shirt from the Bail Hotline which actually looked pretty cool, in black with a guitar on the front, and was given a water as well. Lil' Zeke's Bail bonds gave me a pen. I don't think I've ever been to a music festival with competing bail bondsman, and I'm not sure what that says about the crowd. I've never needed a bail bondsman, and hope I never do, but I can safely say that both booths were friendly, so I'm just going to leave it at that.

Alexandra

Back to the Hey Porter stage, Alexandra and the Starlight Band blazed through another 70's influenced set, but this time of the soul sound that fell somewhere between Janis Joplin, Stax Records and Tina Turner. Alexandra is a woman of indeterminate age and indeterminate ethnicity channeling a 70's stage presence that I found fascinating. My father-in-law and I spoke to Alexandra after her set, and I found her to be friendly as she shamelessly flogged her merchandize, and younger than I thought from the stage. Her music didn't quite fit in with the other, more country tinged performers, but it was still good.

I noticed a difference between the two woman performers that we spoke to, which was that Alexandra is trying to make it in the music business, and is very much a driven showperson. Erika Harding eluded to her day job, and gave the impression that she's happy to play music and make some money from it, but isn't looking to be a star anymore-if she ever was. Both women were excellent singers, but in very different styles and attitude.

Moving back to the vendors, I debated the pros and cons of getting a shave while my father-in-law shopped for some pomade. Two different barbers were doing haircuts and shaves, but I opted not to. In hindsight, I should have gotten the shave, and I will next year. My father-in-law selected some Suavecito Pomade, and I probably should have picked up a some of that too.

Though I understand the Christianity was very important to Johnny Cash, we would move from one stage to the other whenever the Pastoral Readings came up. The Pin-Ups had slightly more interest for me, and I think almost any woman in decent shape looks better in a 40's style sundress, but after you've seen one Betty Page, you've seen them all. Plus, I'm not really into the tatted up chicks that were most of the contestants. For whatever it's worth, I thought the Mexican participants could pull the look off better.

Zippy Josh and the Rag Tag Band seemed to have a big local following, with the band carrying on a dialogue with several of the people in the audience. An acoustic three piece that was playing at punk rock speed, they reminded me of a beachside Gogol Bordello mixed with a bit of Violent Femmes. Nice, tight playing and some solid songs.

Vonettes

The Vonettes' Roadshow Revival You Tube promo got me a %10 discount on tickets, and so I felt obligated to check them out. A 60's style girl group, we watched a couple of songs, and I wanted to like them, they were working hard...but it just didn't do it for me. I think what happened was instead of harmonizing, all three were hitting the same note the same way, and so it was just a bit shrill for my tastes. Harmonizing in an outdoor venue can be challenging, and I think they're local, so I'm sure I'll see them again.

The VIP Seating

There was a few minutes to check out the Johnny Cash memorabilia from the collection of Cindy Cash, so we looked at some of Johnny's old stuff.

At this point, my father-in-law and I hadn't watched one act on the Get Rhythm stage. That would change with Robert Gordon.

One of the reasons we hadn't been watching much on the main stage is that there was an area at the front blocked out for VIP's, which kind of sucked. So where you could get up close and personal with the acts on the Hey Porter stage, you had to have paid the extra bills to get a good spot.

Still, I've been listening to Robert Gordon since 1977, when I heard "Red Hot," and the ads had said he was going to be with Chris Spedding, so I knew it was going to be good. But as we walked over, the emcee was asking for Robert Gordon to report to the stage, that he was on in seven minutes.

Uh-oh.

Robert Gordon and John Oliver

Then I looked at the stage, and the guitar player wasn't Chris Spedding, but instead, someone who looked like a dead ringer for The Daily Show's John Oliver-right down to the suit he was wearing.

This wasn't looking good. But the band started playing, and R.G. came on, and all was right with the world. Robert's singing was strong, the band was tight, and unlike the last time I saw him, the set list was prepared. The John Oliver look-alike could play! Good, sharp Telecaster licks which really helped Robert's singing, it was a great set that left me wondering who the backing band was. Late in the set, R.G. confessed that he'd just met the band the night before, but that they were great, and I heartily agreed. No "Red Hot," but a great set none-the-less.

Chris Shifflet/Dead Peasents

Chris Shiflett and the Dead Peasants was a band that I was curious about. Shiflet is the Foo Fighters lead guitarist, and the Dead Peasants are his roots-rock side act. Another group that I wanted to like, but for some reason, they just didn't do it for me. It seemed like the guitars were mixed low, and the sound just wasn't very good. The band could play, but there was something amiss that even after two weeks I still can't quite figure out. My father-in-law wasn't really into them either, so it was back to the second stage, where we discovered....

Dave Gleason Trio-looking like John Oliver!

The John Oliver look-alike! And he could sing, too! It turns out that they were the Dave Gleason Trio, and for me were the discovery of the day! Sounding somewhere in the area of Dwight Yoakum and Buck Owens, Dave put on a rocking set of Bakersfield-country music that was really good. Rocking on the side of the stage was Robert Gordon, checking out his pick-up band and really getting into it. I believe Gleason's wife was hawking his wares at the side of the stage, and I picked up a copy of his cd, Turn and Fade, which I've been playing around the house and really enjoy. Dave's wife said that I could have the cd signed after the set. We also had a brief discussion about the b-bender that gave Dave's playing a country-twang, with me misidentifying the creator as Gram Parsons, and Dave's wife correcting me, that it was in fact Clarence White and Gene Parsons. I was close, though-they were all Byrds.

After his set, Dave's wife handed me a marker and told me to bring it to him, which I did. My father-in-law and I both complemented his set and remarked on his playing with Robert Gordon. Dave graciously said that playing with Robert Gordon was a thrill, and he seemed to be a genuinely nice man. I gave him the marker, and he signed my cd, and then, it was off to see the Blasters.

Surf City Signs

As we walked over, I checked out a trash can that the guy from Surf City Signs was just finishing up. If I had someplace to put it, I've have bought it. No website, but if you like the trashcan, the number is 530-410-2281.

I could go on and on about the Blasters, a band from my hometown of Downey, California and whom I've seen several times in the last 30 years. I can't remember ever seeing a bad Blasters show. I've seen them when the crowd was totally in to them, in various clubs and roots and rockabilly shows around LA, and other times when they were the unwelcome opening act (the Kinks in '85 at the LA Sports Arena comes to mind), and they have always delivered. I saw them in their original incarnation, with Dave Alvin and featuring Lee Allen, and later versions with Smokey Hormel, Jame Intveld, (though not with Hollywood Fats or Steve Berlin) and a few times with this current line-up that features Keith Wyatt (great lessons on You Tube).

the Blasters

The Blasters were already going when my Father-in-law and I walked up, playing a set list that they could have played in 25 years ago, and the crowd was rocking. When you have a core of good songs, you don't have to change much, and the Blasters gave their all. Good to see in the light of singer/leader Phil Alvin's emergency tracheotomy in Spain last June. Phil's voice sounded good, and though some Blaster's fans may find this blasphemous, I think Keith Wyatt is a better player than Dave Alvin.

I though both 4-11-44 and Fun on A Saturday Night (both on eMusic and iTunes) were strong albums and on par with the rest of the Blasters' canon of work, but the band didn't play any songs from those two discs, or if they did, it was before I walked up. I was bummed, but it was only a 45 minute set, and a band with as many quality songs as the Blasters can be excused for a greatest hits outing.

Junior Brown

The show ended with Junior Brown. By this point, it was starting to get cold, with a breeze blowing off the ocean, but Junior came on ready to rock. The guit-steel guitar was placed center stage, and with his 3-piece band, featuring wife Tanya Rae Brown Junior preceded to put on a guitar tutorial. Though ostensibly a country picker, Junior's Surf Medley or his Hendrix covers show he can rip into just about anything on that guit-steel (now you can buy your very own!), grabbing the tuning machines and twisting, using volume pedal swells and cranking dials on his amp. It was a stunning guitar display.

This post has been over a month in the making, so enjoy the pix down below. I finally want to get this posted.

Johnny Cash Stuff

The late Jalopy Joe's personal ride

Jalopy Joe, RIP

I took a ton of pictures, but I don't really feel like putting captions on the following. Shoot me an email if you want me to comment on something. Otherwise, thanks for reading this far.

The Spot/The Rainbow, Carpenteria

The Spot

389 Linden Ave

Carpinteria, CA 93013

Rainbow Ice Cream

751 Linden Ave

Carpinteria, CA 93013

Beach Crowd

I was just reading the Yelp reviews and they seem to run the gamut for both The Spot and Rainbow Ice Cream. Sometimes these hole in the wall places have issues with consistent quality control.

But based on my experience, both are solid joints in a great location. Both are also “Cash Only,” as things near the beach should be.

A block off the water with outdoor seating, I’ve been coming to the Spot since I discovered it a few years back.

Many of the Yelp reviews slam their burrito, but to me, this is a burger kind of place. If I want a burrito, I go to a Mexican place, and there are a couple of good ones in Carp.

Outdoor Dining

On a recent visit, I went with a cheeseburger and onion rings, while my daughter had a cheeseburger and fries. We sat at one of the outdoor tables. The wait wasn’t too long, the burger and onion rings were quite tasty, and the fries adequate. It’s a touch on the high side, but the location can’t be beat. They also charge extra for refills and certain condiments, but the question becomes, “Do you really need a second soda?”

Carpenteria is a great family beach-meaning usually smaller waves, the state campground (across the street from The Spot) is excellent if you can get a reservation-extremely difficult in the summer and The Spot completes the small town, beachy vibe.

Maybe not worth a special drive, but certainly worthy of a stop if in the area.

After the burger, my daughter and I wanted ice cream. I saw a Rite Aid on Linden, up the road from The Spot, but upon entrance, we discovered that this Rite Aid doesn’t serve ice cream!

My sharp-eyed daughter had noticed the Rainbow Ice Cream shop a block away, so we walked over. The first thing to note is that they serve McConnell’s Ice Cream, a super-premium brand made in Santa Barbara. The Yelp reviews complain about the small size, but this isn’t Rite-Aid, and I felt the size and price were comparable to the two McConnell’s Ice Cream Shops (Ventura and Santa Barbara) that I’ve been to.

I didn’t feel the need to try the featured flavor, Avocado, and instead had butter pecan. It’s rich and creamy, and really quite good. The girl at the counter was young and friendly, and I do like McConnell’s when I want a good ice cream.  The Rainbow is a locally owned mom-and-pop shop.

The shop was small and warm, most likely due to the motors for the ice cream coolers, but there were tables outside, where my daughter and I sat and watched the beach people roll by.

La Panderia Michoacan #2

La Panaderia Michoacan #2

511 Sespe Ave.

Fillmore CA

Every year my kids earn Magic Mountain passes for reading a certain amount in school, and about three years ago we dialed in our routine. We're up early, and out the door about 90 minutes before the park opens. We stop in Fillmore for breakfast, and then get to the park right as the gates are getting ready to open, staying until the park closes.

Our Fillmore stop used to be the Vons, but we found La Panaderia Michoacan #2 two years ago, and now a pan stop is part of the Magic Mountain routine. Located off of Central about two blocks from the 126 in downtown Fillmore, the locals seem to keep the place pretty busy. It's been the same woman at the counter for the last few years, and she's always nice. My kids remember her as the, "nice lady at the pan dulce shop."

And so we stopped there again, got our bag of pan, and headed out to Magic Mountain. And though I certainly wouldn't make a special trip to Fillmore for $6 worth of pan, I do seem to stop in whenever I happen to be driving by in the morning.

As I've mentioned before, pan dulce that is more than a few hours old seems stale, (La Panaderia Lala, 2/17/13) but fresh pan dulce is pretty good, less greasy than donuts and certainly less expensive. 

Interstingly, when I googled La Panaderia Michoacan #2, there were actually a few in rather random places. Like I noted in my Tacos Jalisco post (4/22/13), lots of these Mexican places share names but aren't connected at all. 

$6.50 worth of pan

One thing to note if you've not tried pan dulce before is that it is very crumbly, making it challenging to eat while driving. 

I'm partial to conches and galletas, but will try whatever strikes my fancy once I'm in a shop. Because everything in a pan dulce shop is made fresh, there are things that are made seasonally, especially when dealing with the fillings of epinadas or ojos do buey, so things do change day to day. And you'll note in the picture, there's a pretty tasty looking cinnamon roll on the tray with the more traditional offerings. Each shop makes a wide variety of pan.

Downtown Fillmore has several antique shops, restaurants and a rail station. To my eye, it shares many characteristics with Santa Paula, and it is a favorite with movie location hunters. It popped up in an episode of CSI a few seasons back, complete with the Wm. L. Morris mural, standing in for a town outside of Las Vegas.

I'll cruise the town at some point in a future post.

Robeks

Robeks

4726 Telephone Rd

Telephone Road Plaza Shopping Center, Ventura, CA 93003 ‎

I very rarely buy smoothies. It’s not that I don’t like them, because I really do, but more that they are really heavy in calories, and when you get down to it, I really should just eat an apple.

But I went for a 4 mile run-long for me-and after dinner on my way to a water polo scrimmage, the idea of having a smoothie seemed really good. As a rule, I feel that if I'm really craving something, I probably need it and should have it. I was going to go to one of the Mexican smoothie joints, but they were all in the opposite direction, and then I remembered the Robeks by Winco.

I pulled up a few minutes after 7 PM, but noticed the lights were off and the chairs on the inside were already put up. I walked to the door anyway, but didn’t knock or pull the handle. I just read the hours, which said closed at 7 PM. The two employees were busily cleaning, and having worked in retail for many years and knowing what it’s like to be waiting for that last customer, I just turned around and walked back to the car.

As I started the car, a girl ran outside and called to me, “We can still make you a smoothie!”

I was stunned. An owner might do that after closing, but the idea that one of the employees would run outside and offer was surprising and totally unexected.

I came back in, and ordered a Pina Colada, exactly what I was thinking about. It really was just what I was craving.

Blenders in the Grass is the locally owned chain that I’ll generally go to, Jamba Juice is okay, but if you’re in the area, the Robuks by the Winco will graciously open the door for you if they have just closed.

Copperfield's Gifts and Rarities

Copperfield's Gifts and Rarities

242 E. Main Street 

Ventura, CA 93001

In my younger years, I, like I'm sure many of you, often wondered where to buy a penny-farthing. Then, when Copperfield's came to town a few years back, I found the answer. There, in the display window, was a new penny-farthing, in the classic black of long ago. 

Penny-Farthing

And what else might a store with a with a vintage replica bicycle in the window be peddling to the person who has everything? 

Actually, there does seem to be a bit of everything. I've seen a theremin (think the Beach Boys' "Good Vibrations" or bad sci-fi films), a Ben-Hur film book and, of course, ray-guns. 

Ray-gun

There's funky cards, notebooks, shaving gear, antique books, caps, vintage watches, and old paintings. They have soap and candy, and wrapping paper and unique toys. There are working, manual typewriters and some great looking pens and stationary.

Where I feel that most gift shops have a decidedly feminine quality, Copperfield's feels masculine. There's a Victorian vibe, kind of steam punkish, and I'm always curious as to what will be there when I walk in. 

Shelves of things. Note the robots.

Unusual in this day and age, there's a website but nothing really on it at this time. Copperfield's also has a Facebook page, but again, it doesn't really do justice to the store.

I'm not doing the store justice either. Let's just say the Copperfield's, (along with Iron and Resin, which I'll write about another day), is a store that I always walk into when I'm in that part of town. There's always something there that I want, and I didn't know I wanted it until I walk in. Some things are expensive, but some really aren't, especially when you consider that most of it unique and difficult, if not impossible, to find anywhere else.

Across from the Mission, it is a truly unique place to shop.

Marching band drum

Toys

In the shop-sorry about being out of focus.
Note the belt driven ceiling fan.

Things.

WestWind Drive-In, Goleta (Santa Barbara) CA

West Wind Drive-In

907 S. Kellogg

Goleta, CA

So let's start with this. 

If you happen to be driving between Ventura and Santa Barbara on the 101, remember it is heavily patrolled by the CHP, and they will stop you if you are speeding. Especially on a holiday weekend. 

It's been about five years since my last ticket, so I guess I was due.

The family and I decided to try a drive-in yesterday. We loaded up the car with beach chairs, sodas, fruit juice and candy and headed off to the West Wind Drive-In to catch Despicable Me 2 (if you liked the first one, you'll like this one too). The West Wind is actually beyond Santa Barbara in Goleta, a 40 minute drive that I was going to try to make in 30, hence the above warning.

I haven't been to a drive-in since 1982 with a girl named Mary Beth in either Sante Fe Springs or Norwalk-both theaters long gone now (Mary Beth, too). So with a 30 year gap in between, it was time to give it a try. 

In line to enter-but we could hear the movie!

As you might have guessed, we were late. But the good thing is that the sound is broadcast on FM 96.9, and we were able to pick it up about a block out. The way cars were brought in, you can see the screen as you're waiting to pay, so we didn't really miss anything. Admission is $7.50 for adults and $1 for kids under 11, so it was actually cheaper than going to a regular film. I was thinking about sneaking in my youngest just for fun anyway, and she was actually getting excited about being buried in the back of my car, but opted not to. Start time in the summer for movies is 8:30. Snack bar carries usual movie goodies, and free refills on  large popcorns.

Picture of the movie

As late as we were, there weren't many places to park and we ended up in the back off to the side. Two of my kids like sitting to the side and were perfectly happy, but if we go again, I'm going to try to arrive earlier (obviously) and get a space more toward the center and closer to the front. It was a nice night, so we backed up the car and opened the hatch. Every other car was doing pretty much the same thing as we placed our lawn chairs in a spot where we could see between cars. My youngest watched from inside the hatch. Because every car had their windows down, the sound was very good considering the setting. No stereo sound if you're outside, but if that's what your after, don't get out of the car.

Snack Bar

Sitting in my lawn chair, drinking a soda and looking at stars above the screen, with my kids around me, it really was a nice night. 

When we do this again, we may stop at In-N-Out and pick up some burgers, and I might pack a coffee and hot chocolate for the kids. I had blankets, but I think I would have been more comfortable in pants instead of shorts. It got cold to the point of slightly uncomfortable at about 10.

Without the speeding ticket, it would have been a really fun night, and once I blocked the ticket out, it was fun anyway. 

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