Sunday, May 11, 2008

My previous post about the St. Johns parade was just a tease

If you thought the parade was only full of Clowns for Christ, you're wrong. No no no no. The parade is much more than that. Though I've never seen so many Clowns for Christ before. If you are wanting to see more clowns, Steve has some for you. I just have more juicy tidbits and insight into the depth of the parade. And Jess was right in her previous comment: it is an event with no pretension and I love it because of that.

I love the Shriners....has anyone ever seen a young Shriner? I haven't. Wave at my Shriner!
Shout out from my friend the Shriner!
Wave at the Royal Rosarians! They used to scare me, but not anymore. I love them. They are the official ambassadors for Portland's Rose Festival. Now that's a kick ass volunteer gig.
The Royal Rosarians
This was a warning to all children who misbehave (and part of the pirate contingent). Right before I took this the pirate girl was actually rolling down the street with her head and hands in that thing. And then the wheels locked up on her and she had to tow it.
A warning to all children
And then there were the cars. I only share a few here for you...this is my car. If I could have any of the cars in the parade, this is the one. I'd ride in it with my dog.
My favorite car
I told AdRi she could have this car.
AdRi's dream car
This car was made by carpenters. Could you tell? And, how much you think this thing weighs?!
A whole lotta wood
And finally, there's this group. Whenever I see these banners and stickers, which first came out around the same time we were seeing the One Man + One Woman stickers make their debut, I always wonder to myself if I should hate them. I mean, what are they about? It just doesn't feel quite right. But they were there.
This group always makes me ask myself the question...
Because marching in a parade just isn't marching unless you march with your bag of KFC.
Kids need both parents, and KFC, evidently
Until next time, happy St Johns parade everyone.
Don't miss my previous post featuring Clowns for Christ.

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

That last group is basically the National Center for Men.

Bryan Boyd said...

I always would think the worst about those stickers, turns out from what they say, they might not be as bad as one would think. From their site:


"The group promotes fairness, equality, family and, most important, the best interests of the children. We also promote mutual respect and cooperation between the genders, encourages the involvement of both parents in the lives of children, and is dedicated to making divorce less adversarial and encouraging all of the parties to work together. These then provide the best role models for the children."

LeLo said...

Bryan: Does it say anything about sponsorship from KFC? Or rules about marching with your take out bag? No?

Neva said...

Yeah, that KFC bag was claaaaa-ssy!

The kids-need-both-parents argument has so many holes in it, I just assume anyone that supports it is slightly retarded.

And I really need to check this parade out next year. Wonderful pictures!

Anonymous said...

Understand that if you go to the full National Center for Men website, you discover that they spend a lot of time fretting about (for example) fatherhood being forced upon men by women who lie about using contraception, and like to blithely toss around statements such as, "In many ways women receive special privilege and protection while male pain and suffering are trivialized or ignored by our society."

Anonymous said...

After one of them is in labor for 68 hours they can talk to me about their pain and suffering.

Syd said...

OMG, is that a Gremlin? Sexay!

Anonymous said...

I was going to include the Royal Rosarians in my clown photo essay, but decided against it.

CrackerLilo said...

Awesome photos! Looked like a fun parade, too, except for that end bit. I'm prone to expressing displeasure by throwing my ever-present soda cup; I'd have had to be restrained!

The cars would make up for it though, I bet.

Rozanne said...

I am laughing so hard (for real) about that Gremlin and the truck made by carpenters. Seriously hilarious. But perhaps nothing is funnier than the bag of KFC. I can't believe I missed the St. John's parade AGAIN!

P.S. My grandpa was a shriner. I inherited his fez.

Andy said...

Because, you know, really, if you want people to take you and your beliefs seriously, dress like a clown.

*Sigh.*

As a high-church Anglo-Catholic, I'm trying really hard not to be a snob here. I confess to being biased; I am terrified of clowns (and only slightly less so of evangelicals, though in truth clowns are less harmful, but evangelicals are way funnier).

You can be sure that when I march for Jesus in a month in the gay pride parade, I'll be bringing my dignity with me!

PS, I think the "Children Need Both Parents" folks are on to something, though. I mean, look at how poor Barack Obama turned out. Such a shame.

PPS, Rozanne: I thought your fez was familiar!

Sorry, couldn't resist.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for posting the statement from the Both Parents group. I had been assuming exclusionary things about them, which still may be true, I don't know. At face value, I can totally get on board with what that statement is saying -- but I have a feeling that they're skirting certain major issues.... such as...Are they that supportive if "both" parents are of the same gender? hmmm. Why do I doubt that? Let me count the reasons...

Mainly though, what I think when I see that slogan is: "Are you kidding? Kids need about six parents."

The other thing I think is: Well, yeah... IF both parents are responsible good people. If one of them is a dysfunctional, destructive, or abusive psycho, then hello? Everyone involved needs for that parent to disappear and stay that way. And yes, OF COURSE it's way too big a job for one. Hence the village model of parenting.

Put me down for Neva's "holes" theory. Best to start with reality and work up from there.

SassyFemme said...

"Kids need both parents." Yup, they need their two moms or their two dads, or whatever combination of parents they have. ;)

Kirsten said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Kirsten said...

Your blog makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside- and motivated to cook yummy food and be an activist in my community. That's a lot of emotion packed into a blog.

When I saw the jesus clowns at the St. Johns parade I totally thought of you. They were so...bizarre... and that is why St. Johns has the best parade in the city! And if the jesus clowns can walk, I think we seriously need to work on a roller skating routine for next year. Seriously.

Anonymous said...

Count me in for the roller skating. Seriously, that sounds like fun.

Clowns for Christ... ON ICE!!

riSHEL said...

I know a young Shriner! My son that is also a Master Mason. He'll be 23 next week. We are VERY proud of him!