Extraordinary Stories From An Ordinary Guy: The "Star Spangled Weekend" Story

Monday, July 4, 2011

The "Star Spangled Weekend" Story

It was an ordinary day. Just finished downloading photos from the last couple of days. This is July 4th, 2011 weekend. Our friends Jerry and Just Sue arrived Friday afternoon from State College, PA. We're going to Lititz, PA for a 4th of July parade down Main St. True Americana!! During the afternoon I had purchased subs and chips for a pre-parade picnic for everyone and had the subs in the cooler. Parade started at 6:30 PM so we all hopped in the Mountaineer about 5:00 and headed to pick up another friend, Dale. Dale's wife, Pat works in Lititz and she was going to meet us in a parking lot near the center of town. Dale had the drinks for our picnic in his cooler when we arrived at his house. At 5:30 we pulled into the lot right next to Pat. Everyone grabbed a lawn chair from the Mountaineer, we split up the food, and off to Main Street we headed; only about 6 blocks away. Found a great spot right in the center of town on a grassy lawn in front of an insurance building. Getting crowded as we arrived, but we still managed to grab a great spot to watch the parade. Passed out the food to everyone and enjoyed our meal while watching the traffic pass by on PA501 as well as the crowd continue to grow. Took off with my camera for a few pre-parade shots and ran into my former boss, Mr. Hower who was the Principal at Manheim Township High School. He is a resident of Lititz and came to see the parade. Since Jerry also taught with me at MTHS, Mr. Hower walked back with me to visit with Jerry and Just Sue. I should mention that Mr. Hower was a math teacher when Jerry, Just Sue and me were students at MTHS. I never had him for class, but both Jerry and Just Sue had him. The parade started promptly at 6:30 PM with the Parade Marshal and former military members presenting the colors. Neat to see everyone stand and cheer as they passed by. A real fun parade with everything from baton twirlers to fire engines to "Queen of the Candles" contestants (an event that takes place the next night in the park) riding in Corvettes from the Lancaster County Corvette Club. Wasn't too long ago that Carol drove our Vette in this parade with her friend Marg in the passenger's seat. As the parade ended, we grabbed our chairs and coolers and headed to the nearby Lititz Spring's Park for a concert featuring an oldies band called "Flamin' Dick and the Hot Rods. I'm not making that up, either! Started about 8:00 PM and ran until well after 10:00 PM. Great selection of songs from the 50s and 60s. And .... the place was packed. Hey, it was free! Food vendors of all types filled the area and the sound system was provided by the world renowned Clair Bros. International who got their start in Lititz and still are headquartered in the town. I really enjoy events such as the ones that we attended this evening, since I ALWAYS meet former students, fellow teachers that I taught with as well as friends and even a few former classmates from high school. Slept well that night and got my hearing back again the next morning. Saturday brought a trip to the Chesapeake with Jerry and Just Sue for lunch and then back towards Lititz for an evening of fireworks. Invited ourselves to Hal and Jeannie Hopper's house on the south side of Lititz to watch the 10:00 PM round of fireworks from the park. Hal taught school with Jerry and I and we had a fun evening catching up on all the latest news. And, the ice cream dessert was a great treat as we watched the display in the sky. Celebrations are always more fun with friends and as the song goes ..... o'er the land of the free, and the home of the Hoppers! It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. PS - and now the results of my DSLR camera:

The "Stars and Stripes" await the start of the 4th of July Parade in Lititz, PA