I may not’ve been a homecoming queen but I was queen of this parade!

parade1Or so I imagined myself (I am second to right, with Jay on the right). You guys, is this a motley crew or what? The occasion? 4th of July, 1959. I *think* I have the year right, I’m vacillating between ’59 and ’60. The location? The garage behind the Fin Family Old Cabin up on Fin Family Moominbeach. (You can click these photos to open up larger ones.)

The 4th of July was coming up and *all* of the cuzzints were at the beach that summer. Nobody was living in Alaska or wherever at that time. So, all of the G2 (generation 2) mooms planned a 4th of July parade. They worked hard on this parade. You can see that we all had costumes and banners and flags and the whole works. This parade was supposed to be held on the beach, of course. Roight. I do not remember exactly what the outside temperature was on that particular 4th of July but I know that it was cold. Low 50s maybe? And windy. So. The best laid plans of mice and women were waylaid and, instead of parading along the beach, we paraded along the road. Our road, the two-track gravel road that still runs behind all of the old garages. We were disappointed. We were expecting a crowd of people to watch us. Everyone would be sitting on the beach as we paraded by. Who would be watching us on the road? Frogs and dragonflies and Labrador tea leaves and blue irises maybe?

parade2I had especially high hopes for this parade. My grandparents from the big city of Detroit had traveled to Hawaii and obtained a fake lei and grass skirt for me. I was going to be a hula dancer. Nobody could dissuade me from that costume. Everyone who saw me would immediately recognize how beautiful and talented I was. And don’t I look like a happy hula dancer? No, probably not. Because I was *freezing*. I’m sure that I was not wearing a jacket because hula dancers do not wear jackets. What were you thinking, fer kee-reist. And I don’t even really have any nice warm mouse fur like some others I know. What *was* I thinking?

Not all of the cuzzints are in the picture. Jan was off practicing being an adult because she almost was one at that time. And NP Jane was not thought of yet. And there is another missing person. If you look closely on the left of the second pic, you will see him. Hiding at the side of the garage. You can see his costume in front of us all. It is the best costume anyone in the parade had. It is a very creatively constructed CAR, made by The Commander, probably with a little help from her friends/sisters-in-law et al. He *loved* the costume (or maybe not, see comments) but, when push came to shove, he would *not* wear it in our parade. It’s okay. He was two years old, fer kee-reist! But what the heck, I think he has a flag in his hand. So he was in the spirit of things.

So there we all are and I have vague memories of Sandy, Suzy, and Mac wearing something like bathrobes and things but I can’t remember what their costumes were supposed to be. I do remember that they were having fun and I bet they were WARM! All of the other costumes? I have no memory. Grinch seems to be an owl with flippers. I have no idea what UKW or Pooh or Jay were. Lemme know folks. Like I said, I was only concerned with my own little costume. If you have any memory of this little parade debacle, which I am sure ended up with hot dogs and toasted marshmallows and sparklers (and no doubt a wee bit of booze for the adults, hee hee hee), lemme know.

3 Responses to “I may not’ve been a homecoming queen but I was queen of this parade!”

  1. Jay Says:

    I kind-of remember this. I remember the beach ball.
    Ask Bubs, but I believe her version says Jim would not wear the car because the taillights were not right.
    Sounds about right for a 2 year old with definite opinions.
    What is even funnier is that I was just telling a carpooler about this parade last week!

  2. Sandy Says:

    I don’t really remember what we were — maybe Wynken, Blynken and Nod? Not sure what is up with the hair, though — maybe curlers. Pretty motley crew, indeed.

  3. Margaret Says:

    Brrrr–that is an adorable outfit, but too cold for me too! Grass skirts are meant for Hawaii!!