Quite the affair this one was. A meteorological potpourri for at least two of the days–Sunday was very nice, actually. The on-again-off-again showers kept everyone on their toes through Friday and Saturday but the fireworks were uninterrupted and the shows seemed to go on just fine. The tractor parade was missing some of the ENORMOUS machines that have been entered–forty-’leven big wheels and all–probably because the farmers were too busy trying to actually get on the ground to plant and/or cultivate their acreage in hopes of getting some return at some point;harvest could be delayed for the same reason as the planting.
But the agriculturists who did get there did a fine job gussying up their machines to go with the luau theme; I don’t recall ever having driven a tractor wearing a grass skirt, but maybe that’s just me. The various family groups in Dad’s…or Uncle’s…or Grandpa’s wagon were fun to watch and they all seemed to be having a great time too. My research on tractors turned up a number of brand names that I had never heard of before, several of them quite interesting. Ever hear of Big Bud tractors? How about the Challenger? The Prairie Queen, the Fendt, the Valtra? Me neither, and none of them showed up for the parade There was a Mahindra though, advertised as the most widely purchased (whatever that means) tractor in the world. Could have fooled me. I thought John Deere had a lock on that title. Anyway, it was all a good time and everyone got their trophies to put on the mantel back home.
Aaron King as Grand Marshal of the Grand Parade looked right at home riding on the ladder truck driven by stalwart members of the Garrettsville-Freedom-Nelson Volunteer Fire Department, a service of the Garrettsville-Freedom-Nelson Joint Fire District. One of the smartest things this community ever did was to form this mutual-protection pact to ensure the safety of its citizens; same goes for the Community Emergency Medical Services. In the oft-repeated words of Coach-of-the-Year John Bennett, “Better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.” Anyway, the sirens and horns were at “weapons level” when they went past the viewing stand and about blew the bejeezus out of the amplification system. The ace sound technician had his hand hovering over the board with all of the switches to try taming the decibel output.
As usual, the food was one of the main attractions. Didn’t see any big breakaway offerings this year, mostly your tried-and-true combos of sugar, fat, salt…and grease. The band’s root beer floats were excellent ( By the way, you can still get tickets for the “Win the Band” raffle, $1 each, 6 for $5. Winner gets to have the James A. Garfield Marching Pride appear in their neighborhood for a brief–but loud–program featuring halftime favorites and, of course, the “Fight Song”. Last year’s presentation over on Village Drive was quite the attraction; all the kids there turned out to see and listen. This would be a hoot to have just about anywhere, and that’s where the Marching Pride will go, within the district, anyway. How about it, Garrett House dwellers? Merchants? Organizations? Buy your tickets now. Buy lots of them.).
Always lots of fun calories, and as Scarlett so memorably said, “Tomorrow is another day.” Or to paraphrase somebody or other, “Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we shall diet.”
Another thing to be noticed was the abundance of tattoo art. Mercy on us! The variety was simply astounding. And so was the variety of the tattooed. The days of these designs being mostly confined to sailors/Marines back from a raucous shore leave with “Mother” or the globe-and-anchor on a forearm attesting to a night of consuming adult beverages, those days are over. Nah, now it’s children’s names or skulls weeping roses or verses–poetic or biblical–or portraits of loved ones or whoever. What’s a sailor or Marine do to stand out? Maybe try the Army rock-face climb over by the Gospel Wagon?
Gosh, I just didn’t have time to get to that one. Maybe next year.
Maybe I’ll get a tattoo next year too…right after Hell freezes over.
