Document text
Over the Back Fence By HANK HENRY Simplest July 4th parades are best My wife, Nora, and I went to the Rogue River Rooster Crow Parade a week ago Saturday and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves watching the people and the floats. Afterwards, Nora observed, "People are the only species where a lot of them will line up on both sides of a road to watch others of them go by." We love parades. I suppose academics over the years have tried to explain why people attend parades, using long words and phrases, but it boils down to the simple fact that people love to watch other people. We believe there is something healing about standing on the sidelines and cheering on the people in the parade, particularly the kids and old-timers. From our point of view, the simpler the parade, the better. It's fine when a group performs choreographed routines, or when others march to promote a point of view or political party, but it is not particularly our cup of tea. We like to see kids and old people, sons and daughters, mothers and fathers, all marching along, just for the heck of it. Such a parade can best be held in a small town, where everyone knows everyone else. One person will say, "Why there's young Johnny, back from OSU and pushing his grandfather in his wheelchair." Another will say, "Look, there's Cousin Maude riding on that float with her troop of Cub Scouts." Another thing we like about small-town parades is that several groups carry American flags. I have read stories in news magazines in recent years about how more people in big cities will stay seated as a flag goes by. That doesn't seem to apply in our small towns, where adults and children alike actually put their hands over their hearts or offer salutes as the American flag passes. Parades also offer things that you will rarely see any other time of the year � such as people riding in really old cars which they have carefully restored. Most of these people appear to be 50 years old or older, and they will happily tell you of the thousands of hours they have spent in completing their projects. Nora says that the best thing about antique cars is when the drivers sound their horns. Many of them make sounds like "Hoo-Ga, Hoo-Ga." Still another element we enjoy at small-town parades is the horses. There is usually a sheriff's posse with volunteer men and women in their full uniforms mounted on some of the best riding horses around. Riding in parades is not all that these people do. They and their mounts often are called on to participate in searches for lost people. Several years ago, Nora and a lady friend of hers were talking about the fun they had at the previous year's Eagle Point parade, which is another favorite of ours. They decided to apply to be "pooper scoopers" at the next one. They checked with parade authorities and learned they would indeed be welcome. So the next July Fourth, they were in Eagle Point, her friend with a wheelbarrow and Nora with her garden shovel. It was soon apparent that a garden tool with a curved metal head did not do as good a job of picking up the material as a flat shovel would have done. But there was no turning back, and the horses gave them a good workout. Over the years, we have been to parades in many towns such as Ashland, Central Point, Gold Hill, Phoenix, Butte Falls, Prospect and Talent. The Rogue River Rooster Crow is, in our estimation, a mix of what a parade should be � babies, balloons, bands, birds and a beautiful day. Today, on this July Fourth, there are several fine parades to attend, and fireworks to see tonight. All these and many other events are listed in last Friday�s Tempo. Pick one or two, leave your cares behind, and you'll be glad you went. (Hank Henry is a retired Jackson County commissioner and a former radio and television announcer. Call him at 772-9055.) Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA