Memorial Day happenings

First, we went to the parade. Here are pictures of the color guard, the band, the Scouts, Laura (one of the librarians) and her family watching on the other side of the road, Kevin Foster (our neighbor boy marching in his first parade as a volunteer firefighter and carrying the Wisconsin flag) and the American Legion lined up in the park for the service after the parade.

You gotta love the kid in the plaid shorts, right?

Laura, her daughter-in-law Monica holding her son Gunner (red shirt and cap), and her younger son Owen being held by Laura's daughter Shannon (yellow shirt). Laura and Monica's husbands (Shannon's dad and brother, and Gunner and Owen's grandfather and father, respectively) are both in the parade as firefighters. Laura's younger son is also a firefighter in the Milwaukee area.

Kevin's parents and his brother's family all live down the road, and he is a great young man. He recently graduated from MATC with a 4.0, already owns his own home which he and a friend restored and now he's a firefighter.

Saw lots of library folks at this. My boss is the head of the Legion Auxiliary, and there were any number of volunteers, patrons and even some of my Bookmobile kids there.

Afterward, we went to the R&GN where I renewed my membership for another year. Then home to clear the old grill and some rotting planters off the deck while Tom installed the fountain, now that we are safely beyond the freezing nights.


Tom decided to move the fountain to another corner of the deck so that he could put the grill closer to the door for convenience. We discussed replacing the planters, but decided that the deck will be fine as is. The trumpet vine (barely visible behind the fountain) should fill in nicely before too long, and the shrubs Tom and Helen put in last year are coming along well to add color all around the deck.