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November 25, 2016

THANKSGIVING PARADE

... after our thanksgiving supper on wednesday, i helped liz and adrien set up a little village in the bookstore's main street display window ... i look at these two, and, to paraphrase the real "iron man," i know i am the luckiest person on the face of the earth ... happy thanksgiving ... !!! ...

... friday after thanksgiving is one of our annual "traditions," the waterville holiday parade ... liz settled in to her favorite viewing location, my bedroom window ... adrien and i decided the brisk wind and almost freezing rain made our usual vantage point on the roof too miserable to enjoy, so we settled for one of the windows in the abandoned 1930s dance studio that looks out over main street ...

... we thought the event might be canceled due to the weather ... as it began i questioned the wisdom of holding it in such cold and damp conditions, and wondered about the sanity of parents in bringing their small children out on such a miserable night as this ...

... once the festivities developed, however, it became clear to us that no matter how corny they might be parades are good for the soul ... as usual, miss tiffany's dancing girls were precisely choreographed and neatly attired—including their fascinatingly flashing shoes ...

... kids at the center of it all, how wonderful ...

... what great fun for a child, to be famous the length of main street ...

... adrien loves parades ...

... because, at their very best, this is what parades are about ...

... towards the end of the parade i decided to play with my camera ...

... because, after all ...

... a camera is just another kind of brush ...

I'll march my band out,
I will beat my drum,
And if I'm fanned out,
Your turn at bat, sir,
At least I didn't fake it.
Hat, sir, I guess I didn't make it.
Get ready for me, love,
'Cause I'm a "comer,"
I simply gotta march,
My heart's a drummer.
Nobody, no, nobody
Is gonna rain on my parade!
B.MERRILL