He was a great, great man!"
The piping voice, swinging arms, and marching feet of Monkey2 accentuate the song, which Monkey1 recalls from the same preschool class two years ago and joins in singing. I wish I could remember all the words. Something about who will lead our country... "George Washington can!"
Here, in the largest city close to Mount Vernon (George and Martha Washington's home), there is a parade in his honor. Sure it is held on President's Day, and someone was dressed up as Lincoln, but really it is all about George. The Revolutionary War reenactors were out in force, including a military unit with a cannon that was fired off several times during the parade. And of course there was a sea of Shriners -- being connected to the Masons and the Masonic Temple, built in George Washington's honor, which prominently spikes the sky at the edge of Old Town -- some marching, some playing in a small band on the back of a truck, some in clown costumes promoting their hospitals, and the go-cart drivers that do figure eights in the street, the black tassels of their red fez hats flying as they zip back and forth with all the power of little lawn mower motors.
Monkey1 marched with the Girl Scouts.
"Where is she?" worried my husband, camera in hand, scanning the numerous clumps of blue vested Daisy Scouts. I spotted some of the Daisy moms first, and yelled a bunch to get the group's attention. Monkey2 was excited that all her sister's friends waved at her. (And yes they were waving at her specifically; we were past the half-way point of the parade route, so the girls had long since stopped waving just to wave at people.) Monkey1 was happy at the finish, having earned another participation patch for her vest, and sat in the back of the car devouring the sandwiches I had packed for her.
The Monkeys started discussing the next parade, Saint Patrick's Day, which is memorable in their minds as the parade that "Darth Vader crashed into." One year a contingent of the 501st Legion marched, which is a Star Wars costuming club. For St. Patrick's Day? Apparently any group that puts down the fee can be in the parade. Someday perhaps the Monkeys will recall the legions of Irish dance schools that perform in the parade. Until then, storm troopers get their attention. Unless Harry Potter decides to make an appearance.
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