Wednesday, January 02, 2008
Tournament of Roses Parade
My family and I, along with some good friends, attended the Rose Parade yesterday. We were sitting quite near the beginning of the parade route, about 200 yards down S. Orange Grove Blvd. from the intersection with Colorado Blvd. where the parade route makes a sharp right and many of the TV booths were located.
We really enjoyed the parade. The floats were as spectacular as any I've ever seen and the marching bands were excellent, as usual. I was especially impressed with the level of performance by the many high school bands. It was a day to celebrate the beginning of a new year and to enjoy a uniquely American event, temporarily putting aside mundane concerns and just being.
Politics was definitely not the order of the day, but some people just don't know when to leave it alone. While there definitely was a group of people of the Code Pink ilk following the parade, I couldn't see well enough to identify any of them as Cindy Sheehan. As noted by Gateway Pundit, (scroll down for pix) they were far fewer in number (and a lot quieter) than the Christian proselytizers. Some people chuckled at the papier mache' heads of the "impeach Bush and Cheney" crowd, but otherwise I think the protesters were tolerated at best. If their intent was to disrupt the parade, they failed miserably, at least in my neighborhood.
Nobody I could hear booed the Sheehanites--they were merely ignored with the rest of the screwballs. The only parade follower who got much of a reaction from anyone I could hear was one Christian guy with a bull horn who probably did his cause more harm than good by chiding the football fans--especially the Illini group--for being more excited about their team than about Jesus (who knew God is a Trojans fan?).
When the Marine Band marched by playing the Marines' Hymn, everyone, and I mean everyone, stood and applauded. No other element in the parade received that kind of ovation. In the face of that attitude, the protesters amounted to a flea on an elephant.
A great way to start a new year!
Happy New Year to all, with wishes for many blessings in 2008.
We really enjoyed the parade. The floats were as spectacular as any I've ever seen and the marching bands were excellent, as usual. I was especially impressed with the level of performance by the many high school bands. It was a day to celebrate the beginning of a new year and to enjoy a uniquely American event, temporarily putting aside mundane concerns and just being.
Politics was definitely not the order of the day, but some people just don't know when to leave it alone. While there definitely was a group of people of the Code Pink ilk following the parade, I couldn't see well enough to identify any of them as Cindy Sheehan. As noted by Gateway Pundit, (scroll down for pix) they were far fewer in number (and a lot quieter) than the Christian proselytizers. Some people chuckled at the papier mache' heads of the "impeach Bush and Cheney" crowd, but otherwise I think the protesters were tolerated at best. If their intent was to disrupt the parade, they failed miserably, at least in my neighborhood.
Nobody I could hear booed the Sheehanites--they were merely ignored with the rest of the screwballs. The only parade follower who got much of a reaction from anyone I could hear was one Christian guy with a bull horn who probably did his cause more harm than good by chiding the football fans--especially the Illini group--for being more excited about their team than about Jesus (who knew God is a Trojans fan?).
When the Marine Band marched by playing the Marines' Hymn, everyone, and I mean everyone, stood and applauded. No other element in the parade received that kind of ovation. In the face of that attitude, the protesters amounted to a flea on an elephant.
A great way to start a new year!
Happy New Year to all, with wishes for many blessings in 2008.
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