Monday, September 6, 2010

All is Well in Wellsville, or, I Think I Found Stars Hollow

Can you hear it?
Wait for it.......Waaaaaaaait for it.......   YES!  There it is!  Can you hear Andy of Mayberry whistling the theme song?  And can you see Opie kicking up dust with his fishin pole over his shoulder?  And can you smell Aunt Bea's blueberry pie comin' right out of the oven?  And hear Barney Fife shooting himself in the foot?  Yes?  ME TOO!

Because I was there in person today:  Mayberry RFD.  I was coated in retro.  This morning Jaqueostinky's family and I headed off to Wellsville (real name) for a 'Founder's Day Parade" even though it is really Labor Day today. 

(ps.   There's loads of low quality pictures to come....I was so excited by what I saw that all I did was point and shoot.  Aesthetics be forgotten.....  Lighting be dar ned.....)


First, the po-lice started off the parade with a bang.  Please note Gracie and Sophie off to the left side, not so impressed with them,  holding their WalMart sacks waiting for the candy throwing to begin.  And That Girl in the pink and white striped shirt?  Lets be keeping it real and say that she was strictly a kid from 2010.  She kept gathering candy in her space and then would run over and steal what had been thrown to my two little angels.  I wanted to kick her real hard and that was not very Mayberry of me.





Next we see the satisfied face of an assertive child who problem solved by running up to the candy throwers and flashing her dimples.  How very Grandma Margaret of her.



Next we have a larger woman being pulled by a smaller pony.  I'm just sayin.  It might have been too hot for this.




Next we have a softball team and one girl dragged her barkalounger up on the truck.  I know there is a sign that advertises a raffle, but that thing looked like someone's dad had already put several miles on it during 7 or 8 consecutive March Madnesses.



Here we have the Wellness Community Band.  Most of it's Participants were over 65, not that there's anything wrong with that.  My biggest regret of the day was not snapping a pic of the 85 year old woman
 that was banging on the bass drum.....Don't you just kick yourself when you miss the golden moment? 

 ps.  There were alot of suspenders in the band.



Band Enrapture




Wellness's Oldest Sweethearts.  So MAD about the blur because they were the cutes.



The UNREAL homemade glazed donut that I bought from one of Jaqueo's scouts



The Preston Idaho High School Marching Band.  Remember?  It's Napolean Dynamite's alma matar

SO EXCITING!




Pedro is the student body president AND plays the trumpet 



Socially Concious Demolation Derby-ists




Socially Unconcious Home Care Givers who make their Patients ride in a parade



Members of the A.M.R.S.  (American Medieval Re-inactment Society).  A particularly poignant quote from their flyer:  "A Kingdom for a stage, Princes to act, and Monarchs to behold the swelling scene. . .
- Shakespeare, Henry V

If you join, there are CAMP OUTS!!!!




Please do not be offended by the next two pictures.  I just pointed and shooted like the camera said to do.





So now you've got yer wild ones, that at first glance have gotcha wondering:

"Are they or aren't they???"





.....And then you see the two blonde ones with red goo slathered on them and there's no more doubt. 




Just lots and lots of confusion and an urge to cover up your grandchildren's eyes.


For those of you who think my blogs are too long (you know who you are Glitch), you may find it rather noteworthy that I did not include pictures of Wellsville's Oldest Citizen which included a man in a straw hat, my grand kids bearing down on the candy throwers, the Queen of 1856 who really might have been THE queen they are talking about there, a ninn-compoop wearing a real bearskin and a real bearhead on his head, a float that celebrated the Golden Spike that had a woman who left her dentures at home, two tweens carrying a flag that announced the Excess Material Disposition Crew who were really just people who scooped up horse manure,  a cowgirl in sparklie tight pants, and a float carrying princesses that was covered with so many silk flowers that the first thing that popped into my head was "40% off coupon at Michaels."

So yeah....I edit.