Saturday, DEC 6, 2003 – This was a “double-header” day for Christmas parades for us. After completing the morning parade in Horn Lake, we were ready to head to the Olive Branch one, without even leaving Goodman Rd. But first we had to take care of lunch.

Cici’s™ was a good place for us; all the comforts of home and lots of room… and lots of food. So much, that I had to beg some of our members to finish up, so we could stay on schedule (ever the clock watcher). The only one that voiced dissent was Ralph , who I caught in the middle of his desserts. “But Bill, I am not FINISHED!” I promised that we would come back again real soon, and he gave in. (smile)

Getting to the parade staging area was uneventful… well except for the “GRAND TOUR” on which I took the group. You see, at that point, we were following LaRue, who took a wrong turn in the park (cruised a side parking lot). I knew he was lost, so went straight, thinking I knew where I was going. We were #30, so I figured nothing more than watching for the little number on the side of the drive; except the numbers gave out at about #40 and didn’t pick up again until #21. Oooops! Circle the wagons! Nothing like getting “parade practice! Plus, we got to wave at each other as we did our impression of ships passing in the night.

Our spot was in another side parking lot, with plenty of room to line up, dress up, and “freshen up.” Sooner than we knew, it was time for us to start up.

It was a treat to be so close to the front of the parade this year. It seemed to run a lot smoother… well… except for the walking stragglers from #29 and trying not to make road pizza out of them. OOOhhhh!

We were not supposed to throw candy at this one. So, I am afraid I was a bad example for my grandson. I admit that I snuck a few tosses in there, out of site of the parade marshals. BAD! I think I was punished for it though, when Lightnin’ decided he had just about had enough parading for one day. He wanted to stretch his legs and burn some gas but felt so restricted. He did recover before “the big stop.”

The BIG STOP is a phenomenon that occurs in this parade when the head of the parade gets back to the park and the tail of the parade has not yet passed. In previous years, we had always wondered what was causing this, and got to eye-witness it this year.

At this point Mark’s bug was abandoned in the middle of the street with the motor running and door hanging open as he ran to the chicken fast food to “freshen up.” Actually, he asked me to watch it for him, since I was out walking around, getting rid of calories by passing out Tootsie Rolls™ and mingling. I knew the candy would not be safe around me if I took it home. I tried to strike fear into him by saying if the parade started we would leave without him. But, there was no danger of that happening.

A few more minutes and we were dodging stragglers again. But, by this point, I was slaphappy enough that I started “accompanying” their rendition of Jingle Bells with Lightnin’s horn. They loved it and one of the young men on the float started conducting the horn group. I needed Bobby’s air horns! Now I play 2 musical instruments; the radio and the car horn! Through all that excitement we found a parking lot to tear down and pack up. We all promised each other to do this again and to see each other at the next meeting. At that point, I saw a lot of heat adjuster handles being pulled full hot in anticipation of some high-speed heat, driving up Hwy 78, back to the Big-M(emphis). Yup, at this point I agree… next year for sure.

Air out your problems in a parade! Air Bill
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