Signs of a Mayberry Christmas, Pt. 2

Ah, the Mount Airy Christmas parade.  Always the first Sunday of December, 3pm.  Easily the coldest parade in Mayberry (temperatures were somewhere in the mid-30's this year).  Also, easily the longest.  A standard Mount Airy Christmas parade goes on for over two hours - two hours.  This significantly dwarfs two of the other more notables, the July 4th and the Veteran's Day parades.  Those are literally over before you know it.  But not the Christmas parade.  It tests the mettle and endurance of even the most seasoned parade veteran.

One of the things I like about parades in a small town is that virtually everyone you know has some personal tie to the parade.  Maybe their daughter is in the Girl Scouts float.  Maybe their son plays in the high school marching band.  It creates a "homey" feel that you don't get with Macy's.  With six and four year olds we're not there quite yet, but our time will come.

Just so you can see the diversity (both good and bad) of the Christmas parade, I've included a few pics.  Check 'em out and let me know what you think.

The start of the parade, looking north on Main Street.  Not much to this picture, I know.  But I just think we have one of the coolest Main Streets around.  Especially on a cold parade day.

Our esteemed mayor, the honorable Jack Loftis.  A nice guy and good baptist.  Plus, I dig his hat.

I thought this was unique - an old-school bug wrapped entirely in Christmas wrapping paper.  And a bow on top, to boot.

In case you were wondering, your eyes don't deceive you.  This is, indeed, a porta-potty on wheels.  You don't get the full effect in a still picture, but it's driving around in circles.  And it's propane-fueled, so there's a flicker of flame and smoke coming out of the top.  I don't know that this is quintessential "Mayberry," but it sure was good for a laugh or two.   The boys in particular were enthralled.

Undoubtedly the low moment of the parade.  Lots of churches have floats, and most are pretty benign (Merry Christmas, Jesus is the Reason for the Season, stuff like that).  Then there's this: if you can't make it out, the front of the float (which is cut off) has golden gates and folks dressed in white with halos and stuff.  You can see what the back is. Ugh.  Try explaining this to a six-year old (I had to).  My understanding is that this same church, at a previous Christmas parade, had a bloodied Jesus hanging on the cross.  Great.  Kill the guy before he's even born.  Doesn't exactly get you in the Christmas spirit, does it?  Thankfully, this was an aberration from an otherwise pleasant parade (well, the Christian bikers were so loud it made your ears hurt).  But honestly, these folks should know better.

And then one of the main highlights - the Winston-Salem State Marching Band, all the way from - you guessed it - Winston-Salem.  These guys rock out.  Not only do they make a mean sound, but they also have a nice bounce to their step too, as is evidenced in the pictures below:

Nice.....

 
 

Bust a move....

Okay, I feel better now.

After the WSSU band the Lindsley family had to head home.  Too cold standing outside for almost two hours.  It's a marathon of a parade, but guaranteed we'll do the exact same thing next year.  Because, you know, it's our parade.  And why would we ever want to miss our town's Christmas parade?

 

Comments

[Nancy Malone]

Loved reading this. My children each came to me about the devil float and wanted more information - since I did not get to see the float or the parade I was caught a little bit unaware - however, I was glad and sorry to find that others had to deal with the same issues and questions. My children emphatically exclaimed that they wanted nothing to do with that devil side of the float so maybe it helped to provoke some thing good after all.

[The Commander]

I, unfortunately, missed the parade this year, but plan on attending it next year.

I only wish that Mount Airy could put as much passion into the 4th of July Parade as they do the Christmas Parade. Imagine how spectacular it would be to see (& hear) a Marching Band come up Main Street playing the 1812 Overture.

Maybe someday