Saturday, May 15, 2004
I'm Back!
Hello everyone! Finals week is now over! Yay! And for your information, I got straight A's. Go me!
I have mentally composed and forgotten at least 3 blogs, so I was at a loss at what to write today. I mean, if I didn't write SOMETHING, this place would start to seem like a dead site. So I thought maybe I would get back into the habit by talking about the parade I went to today.
Today was the Council Bluffs Pride Parade. Locals clubs, charity groups, businesses, churches, and schools march in a parade downtown. It is a lot of fun to see the costumes, hear the marching bands, and wave at our neighbors. Oh, and they throw candy too!
This year was a "down" year. There weren't any grade schools from the west end at all, which is very sad. Every school used to participate. Only one church marched, which is also disappointing. A lot of the big businesses were absent as well. Toys R Us sent a group touting charitable giving of toys to needy kids, but then had kids ride bikes and scooters behind the float, complete with big price tags attached. Tacky. Neither of the hospitals were even represented, which is also sad.
Since this is an election year, the politicians were out in full force... literally holding babies, shaking hands, and making promises. My favorite this year (for congress) is Sal Mohammed. He seems genuine, and represents a sect of the population that doesn;t get a fair voice very often (lower income/minorities). He will earn my vote. He even drives down from Sioux City every weekend to stand on a corner and hold up signs, wave at cars, and chat with people who stop by. He hasn;t mobilized a volunteer force, and hasn;t tried to raise a single dime. He is completely DIY (do it yourself).
the parade had very good entertainment. All of the martial arts clubs gave demonstrations, as well as the dancing schools and gymnastics teams. A newer phenomena are truck clubs, where guys build giant pickup trucks and showcase them. It is Iowa after all. But for the rate that gas is going for this year, it probably cost each truck owner about $20 just to do the parade!
After it was all over, I was a little disappointed that it wasn;t as good as in the past. The community needs to embrace this for unity and pride. I have considered maybe volunteering on the steering committee next year and making a lot of phone calls to schools and churches. It would be nice to see Council Blufs out in full force to celebrate.
One last note, the behavior of the spectators was very good, but the litter afterwards was heart breaking. My 3 year old niece and I picked up trash for 15 minutes, and that was only in a 20 square foot area. We finally had to go, but as we walked back to the car, there was litter every where. Candy wrappes, empty pop and water bottles, and even flyers handed out by the floats were on the ground everywhere. This doesn't really say "pride" does it? Littering is very, very bad.
Well, more later! Hopefully I will get back in the habit of emailing and writing blogs! See ya!
I have mentally composed and forgotten at least 3 blogs, so I was at a loss at what to write today. I mean, if I didn't write SOMETHING, this place would start to seem like a dead site. So I thought maybe I would get back into the habit by talking about the parade I went to today.
Today was the Council Bluffs Pride Parade. Locals clubs, charity groups, businesses, churches, and schools march in a parade downtown. It is a lot of fun to see the costumes, hear the marching bands, and wave at our neighbors. Oh, and they throw candy too!
This year was a "down" year. There weren't any grade schools from the west end at all, which is very sad. Every school used to participate. Only one church marched, which is also disappointing. A lot of the big businesses were absent as well. Toys R Us sent a group touting charitable giving of toys to needy kids, but then had kids ride bikes and scooters behind the float, complete with big price tags attached. Tacky. Neither of the hospitals were even represented, which is also sad.
Since this is an election year, the politicians were out in full force... literally holding babies, shaking hands, and making promises. My favorite this year (for congress) is Sal Mohammed. He seems genuine, and represents a sect of the population that doesn;t get a fair voice very often (lower income/minorities). He will earn my vote. He even drives down from Sioux City every weekend to stand on a corner and hold up signs, wave at cars, and chat with people who stop by. He hasn;t mobilized a volunteer force, and hasn;t tried to raise a single dime. He is completely DIY (do it yourself).
the parade had very good entertainment. All of the martial arts clubs gave demonstrations, as well as the dancing schools and gymnastics teams. A newer phenomena are truck clubs, where guys build giant pickup trucks and showcase them. It is Iowa after all. But for the rate that gas is going for this year, it probably cost each truck owner about $20 just to do the parade!
After it was all over, I was a little disappointed that it wasn;t as good as in the past. The community needs to embrace this for unity and pride. I have considered maybe volunteering on the steering committee next year and making a lot of phone calls to schools and churches. It would be nice to see Council Blufs out in full force to celebrate.
One last note, the behavior of the spectators was very good, but the litter afterwards was heart breaking. My 3 year old niece and I picked up trash for 15 minutes, and that was only in a 20 square foot area. We finally had to go, but as we walked back to the car, there was litter every where. Candy wrappes, empty pop and water bottles, and even flyers handed out by the floats were on the ground everywhere. This doesn't really say "pride" does it? Littering is very, very bad.
Well, more later! Hopefully I will get back in the habit of emailing and writing blogs! See ya!
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