Another Reason to Love the 4th of July, or the 3rd

The small town parade. The thing I love the most about a small town parade is the improvisational aspect to it. Unlike the big money extravaganzas in major cities there is some room for surprise and low budget ingenuity. The Montpelier 3rd of July parade is full of both.

(Side note - yes, the 3rd. I believe that the main reason some towns celebrate a day early is because the fireworks companies are overbooked on the 4th and offer a discount. It's actually 50% more historically accurate, since the Declaration of Independence was ratified on the 2nd. John Adams thought that the 2nd should become our national holiday. )

The parade lines up in a network of low-traffic residential streets in a section of Montpelier called The Meadows. Under the direction of volunteer marshals the various pieces are threaded together and march off towards the center of town. The Librarian and I were watching the parade start up when the best float ever rolled by. Click on the photo below for an enlargement.

What do we have here? Something that looks like a large copy of the Declaration on the back. A pole wrapped in spangly Christmas boa decoration holding four flags up front. A guy in a George Washington costume. So far, so...wait, is that an Imperial Storm Trooper from Star Wars?

It is. With a ray gun.

Apparently he's about to pop a cap on that miniature deer near the flags. It also looks as if George and the Trooper have a campfire all ready to cook up some venison while they discuss inalienable rights, consent of the governed, and the chickenshit bureaucracy that is the despair of all front line soldiers.

But really, what is an Inperial Storm Trooper doing on a float with Washington, the Declaration, and a stunted deer? Is it some kind of revolutionaries vs. empire, endless struggle of mankind sort of symbolism? Or am I overthinking this? I'm trying to imagine the thought processes of the people planning the float.

"It's looking a little sparse, y'know?"

"Well, we added the deer."

"Yeah, it looks kinda woodsy, with the campfire, maybe a little Valley Forge thing going there."

"We need another guy in uniform up there. Who has a Revolutionary War outfit?"

(Silence)

"Civil War?"

(Silence)

"French and Indian War? War of 1812? Spanish American War? World Wars? King Philip's War?"

(Pause)

(From the back) "Um, how about Star Wars?"

And so it came to be. Best float ever.

Comments

[Hervé]

Personally, I like the Star Wars thing better than the French Indian Wars...
God knows why...?!!!

[Minor Heretic]

Think of it as the Seven Years War, Herve'.