On Saturday of Memorial Day Weekend, the LOL juggling team from Windham Christian Academy performed in the Essex Junction Memorial Day Parade. This event in my hometown is the largest parade in the state of Vermont. This was the performance most of the kids were most excited about. They were not disappointed!
Perhaps the most enjoyable part of the experience was the hour between arriving at the starting point and actually stepping off. A couple of lines over from our spot were three graduates from Vermont's Circus Smirkus. The team consisted of a stilt walker, unicyclist and juggler. Many of our team enjoyed conversing with fellow circus artists. But that was nothing compared to who showed up a little later: Miss Vermont and Miss Teenage Vermont! My nine middle school boys were truly awestruck. They eventually closed their gaping mouths and got up the courage to go ask to have their pictures taken with Vermont's reigning beauty queens. Most of the girls on our team stood at a distance with arms folded, glaring angrily. As it says in Ecclesiastes, there's nothing new under the sun.
The weather was perfect for the parade. It was sunny but cool, and minimal breeze to impact the juggling. Stephanie walked on the high stilts the entire 1.5 miles, and the jugglers did great. Rose was almost flawless with clubs, and her friend Corban was just as successful with ball jugging. Sam, Cutter and Andrei wowed the crowd with their mastery of knife and fire juggling.
The highlight of the parade for me was when I heard a voice from the sidelines call out, "Richard!" When I looked over, I recognized my father's next door neighbors, Dave and Diane Desautels. I had not seen them for 14 years, since my father's burial in 2000. They didn't look all that much older. I only had a minute to shake Dave's hand and hug Diane, as the parade kept moving, but it was a very nostalgic.
Everyone was exhausted after the parade ended, and we met up with the rest of the chaperones at the vans for a picnic lunch. Dan, the other male chaperone, was every bit as excited as the students because he met Bernie Sanders, one of his political heroes, in the parade.
As tired as the team was after the parade, when they heard we were going shopping in downtown Burlington after lunch ,they got a remarkable second wind. This too was a nostalgic moment for me because, as a teen I occasionally did street juggling there.
All in all, Saturday may have been the best day of the whole trip for many of the team, but when we fell asleep one last time that night on the church floor we still were not finished. We had our final show of the year the next morning.