So, here we are, between seasons. We are no longer haunted by the disembodied man/woman who filled the air of our fair village over the past weekend. I really don't miss the voice(s); they just seemed to be (if you'll forgive the turn of phrase) "dialing it in" this year. The ghostly intonation were just so "mumbly-peg." Sounds, not words, just bounced off every building in the village. Sad really. Oh, and dangerous, too. Not nice, disembodied voices, to simply toss your mumbles into the air with no consideration to the innocent bystander. A bit of gobble-Dee-gook carelessly tossed into the air and ricocheted about the hamlet until it almost clipped one of my ears. What is this, Chicago or North Minneapolis?! Aim for your audience, disembodied voice(s)! Aim! We try so hard to teach our children proper words at point blank range! WTF! And OMG, people (voices)!
Anyway, the last hurrah of parade season occurred over the past weekend. Every year, the County Fair Panel invites a slow moving caterpillar into our village to meander...and eat...I think...parades eat, don't they? The village folks, and some county folks, come from all over to select "their very own" parade watching spots along the route. Some go so far to pitch tents and camp overnight to preserve their prized sites. And this year only two disputes had to be "arbitrated."
The parade displayed all the colors of the rainbow, sang in all the voices of popular musics (Country and Pop only. Well, marching band was recently added to acceptable list, but no rap or Latin Inspirations, please.). All manner of propulsion were on display: legs, cars, trucks, field trucks, the ones with the really fat tires and the ones with the really tall thin tires, tractors, fire trucks, mini go-carts, antique things that only the old "children" know, milk trucks, dump trucks, hay wagons disguised as parade floats, parade floats disguised as hay wagons,...well, you get the idea. There was all manner of folk as well: the various royal courts that exist about the realms - kings, queens, and princesses, court jesters..oops, sorry, I mean- folks running for various public offices. Let me see, there were Cowboys and girls riding valiant steeds and mares, clowns oozed out from something resembling the Mystery Machine from the Scooby cartoons (not sure if the clowns were the scary kind or not, somehow sad, though), kids, and adults. I think there may have been a mermaid or two, but little Abby Newsome was the only to report of their existence.
The only thing that did not make the parade was any breed of farm animal that could make the walk. They were all left at the fairgrounds, too afraid of Sam's WeBuildGreatStuff float; no doubt, a float of great vision, but some how missing in execution. It was one of the parade floats disguised as a hay wagon. Besides three very "enthusiastic" folks half tossing fistfuls of candy; it had a giant stereo blasting Oldies music (80's music if you must know). Nothing else.
After the parade was finished and everyone had left for the last of the fair fun, the village kids would periodically go back to attack the parade route like ants at a picnic with toddlers. On the sides of the route of the very hungry caterpillar was a sugary sludge of sticks, wrappers, and other candy bits. There was also all manner of streamers, buttons (political and otherwise), balloons, popped and not, paper shards and sheets, and perhaps firecracker bits. It will take weeks and many inches of rain to erase any traces. Just ask Sienna the Destroyer of Sticks and her companion, Jinxie the Retriever of Wayward Leaves (and now squirrels, it seems) who stop every 15 feet, roadway or not, to offer their assistance in the cleanup, licking tongues and wagging tails included. But, in all, it was a grand spectacular which celebrated the past, present, and future of the entire county, not just our little village.
And now, with the disappearance of the disembodied voice, the Midway trucks and their trailing puzzle-piece amusement rides, the citizens can finish retrieving prizes won, ribbons, pies, and animals. The County Fairgrounds looks like a ghost town/dude ranch after a horrible storm or a mass stampede. But that is for a later time. It is peaceful now. Enjoy. Admittedly, the village does feel different, everyone has mentioned it. It feels as if we jumped dimensions; perhaps, now, we are in "the other" village. I should look for a button, maybe someone accidentally hit the "Nudder" world in my old bus. The dimension slip would explain the sensation of time loss (you know the feeling: Wow! Whatever happened to summer?). At any rate, now we wait, poised for feasting season. Sure, school starts in just a couple of weeks and we need to get ready. But the God Who Eats Green Things will be here soon. How better to celebrate His arrival than for all of us to eat things as well. There will always be school.
