The 4th parade

Perceptually this year's Independence day is celebrated more loudly than previously. You just hear "you have a great 4^th" at the office so much more often than before. And for the first time since I moved here, a parade is held right at my door step (I live right on the main street in town). Families lined the pedestrian and median of the road, cheered and clapped trying to create a festive atmosphere in futile because of their small number. Sparsely populated marching groups and lack of band music made the event even less yawn-resisting. But I was waken up by the noise (from the police patrol's engine revving, not the people) so just the same I took a few pictures.

You've got little trumpet carrying green men with no music

You've got a vintage police car which, consider the city's budget, may very well be still in service

You've got some very old gears... and look, a steam engine too (I am a bad person)

No parade is complete without men in skirts