Opening Day Festivities

A couple of weeks ago the town where I reside held its annual Little League Parade. Parents and kids were asked to assemble at the local Catholic Church parking lot and then march to the field. Sometime, however, between the initial announcement and the parade a parishioner of the church died; the funeral was scheduled for the same time as the parade. So a few alterations were made and sent out in an email. 1. We were not to park at the Catholic Church. 2. Park at the nearby funeral home. and 3. Please have the kids be quiet and respectful. The first two were no problem, the third, well...

As you can see from the image there were quite a few people milling around behind the Catholic Church (about 500 according to my estimation). No one was quiet, and the person in charge of the parade had a bullhorn - although I am pretty sure he forgot to turn it on, so he kept talking really loud with the bullhorn over his mouth; no one could hear him. Never mind that the local middle school band was there drumming a marching rhythm and playing "Yankee Doodle Dandy." As we marched past the church all the workers from the funeral home came out to cheer us on. It was the oddest and most amusing Little League parade I have ever been a a part of.

Here is an action shot of #2 and #3 (who joined us halfway for about 20 feet of parading.)

Once we arrived at the field the festivities were in full swing:

The Bouncy House

Then the Rock Wall. At first I said no, then the VOR said come on, look who we are talking about, after a few feet they will jump right down. Okay I said. #2 climbed halfway; #1 climbed to the top (30 feet) and rang the bell.