A parade of achievements
I love parades; but I’d rather shoot pictures of a parade than watch one.
Thankfully this year, the Coronado Independence Day Parade was in full swing after last year’s cancellation. Like the Pasadena Tournament of Roses® Parade, thousands of people line up on the main street called Orange Avenue, but instead of being in stands or sleeping overnight to get a prime viewing spot, people just show up in the early morning with some lawn chairs or stand on the street corners. They come dressed in their red, white and blue waving flags and beaming with smiles and waves.
Since my last bone marrow transplant, it’s been challenging to take photos the way I used to, but this was the perfect time to take that leap. I’ve had a place here on the island for 20 years and lucky for me, some of the parade entrants stage their horses and their riders on our street prior to the parade. All I had to do was was walk out of my townhouse, strap on the big cameras along with my bag of lenses with a pad of paper and a pen and start asking questions and taking pictures.
I met members of the Hole in the Wall Gang, Poway Rodeo, The Victorian Roses Ladies Riding Society, and riders of the Scripps Miramar Saddlebreds. Around the corner I met and talked with 99 year old Rt. Navy Chief Petty Officer Stuart Hedley, the legendary Pearl Harbor survivor, and Vice Adm. Steve Koehler, Commander, U.S. 3rd Fleet.
It fascinates me how such a patriotic display combines so many diverse groups of people. Add in the Shriners driving toy cars wearing their fez hats, the Wild Wild West display of horse riders with their antique guns, boots and saddles, the Victorian Roses Ladies Riding Society wearing vintage dresses and hats while riding their flower adorned horses and buggy. Falun Gong was there too, with their Chinese meditative music and their crimson and gold banner and satin costumes. Clowns were jumping around in the crowd, with one riding a toy bicycle down the street.
Local business owners walked or drove down the street touting their services, including Buona Forchetta, who drove a truck with kids in the back throwing flour at one another. There were kids riding their bikes and skateboards, fans of the San Diego Gulls, (who knew San Diego had its own hockey team?) and people dressed in historical costumes, courtesy of the local Lamb’s Players Theatre. Where else are you going to find Betsy Ross walking with an oversize foam tooth?
Since Coronado has a big military influence with adjacent Naval Station North Island, those parade entrees always garner the loudest cheers.
Refreshingly, there were no jeers or taunts when both the local Democratic and Republican Clubs made their way along the route.
The parade was complete with its own Tom Cruise impersonator, glorifying the role the real Tom Cruise played in “Top Gun” and its recent sequel, both filmed in the area.
As I watched this odd juxtaposition of characters walk or ride down Orange Avenue last Saturday, I reflected on how the United States really is unique and special. On that parade day, we celebrated our differences and remembered our freedom from tyranny—in a raucous red, white and blue kind of way.
Witnessing the joy of the crowd crammed outdoors in the hot son after a long quarantine was magical.
Carrying two cameras and a lens bag for three hours with little food and water was exhausting. But I have no regrets. Only pride.
That parade filled my soul with the crowds’ contagious enthusiasm and unabashed patriotism.
Quite an achievement indeed.
