Being in a parade

The nearby town of Lexington, Missouri, stages an annual St. Patrick's Day parade on the Saturday before the actual day.  Our tractor club is always invited to take part in this event, and usually we make a decent showing.  Last Saturday, though, the weather didn't cooperate, so our group was small.  It was pretty cool, with a steady drizzle.  Cliff  wasn't anxious to head the tractor up the slick ramps onto the trailer at risk of life and limb, but he could see he'd never hear the end of it if we didn't go.

One reason I was adamant about being in the parade was that I had made arrangements with the parents of the little girl we babysit to have her with us in the parade.  Her mom planned to dress her in green, right down to her green cowboy boots (the kid has at least a dozen pairs of boots in various colors).  I wanted to show her off, and I figured if this worked out, we could occasionally take her to other local parades when she wasn't off with her parents riding horses.

So we went.  The minute we unloaded the tractor, the gentle mist turned into a steady sprinkle and, that's how it was for the duration of the parade.  Now, the parade isn't a big one, so I knew it wouldn't take long.  However, the folks running it ask that participants line up an hour before it starts.  Cora, by the way, was a perfect angel during all of this.

Looks pretty miserable, doesn't it?

Thanks to the rain suit Cliff kept from our biker days, he managed to be the warmest, driest guy in the parade.  Cora and I had a built-in umbrella over us in our carrier behind the tractor, so we didn't get too terribly damp.  I had to put her rain coat on her, though.  So much for the lacy green dress she was wearing. 

These guys marched past to line up ahead of us.  Cora enjoyed watching them and hearing the drum beat.

courtesy Lexington, Missouri, Chamber of Commerce

Courtesy of Lexington, Missouri, chamber of commerce

A friend was there and took excellent, quality pictures of us.  This one and the next were taken by him.

As you can see, Cora perfected her waving technique.

By the way, Once Cliff saw all the kids in the crowd waving and smiling at us, he decided it was worth being in a parade in the rain.  It was a good time.