School Picnic (138/365)

“I once asked my father for a dollar for the school picnic. He told me how he once killed a grizzly bear with his loose-leaf notebook.”
―Bill Cosby

TIME:  10:10AM – 12:56 PM
PLACE:  Park
SUBJECT:  School district picnic


The annual parade and school picnic was today.


This is my 11th year and I have sunk to sitting at a table under a pavilion.
I established a base camp, while my youngest child ran around, spending an ungodly amount of money on carnival rides, food and beverages.

Seat holder and personal ATM.
That’s me.


One good thing.
I had the perfect spot to take this picture of them on the slide without having to move from my seat.

Cliff Hanger (136/365)

“Cliff Hanger, hanging from a cliff, and that’s why he's called Cliff Hanger!…Can't -- hold -- on -- much -- longer!"

Cliff Hanger, “Between The Lions.” PBS series-WGBH Boston and Sirius Thinking. LTD.

TIME:  1:41 PM
PLACE:  City park
SUBJECT:  DramaQueen and friends on Cliff Hanger ride

Today was the annual public school parade and picnic – it was feeling more like October (low 60’s) but we had sunshine - Yayaya!
~*~*~
The logistics of this day for me were extremely ugly – I had to drop off MonkeyBoy at the Jr. High at 8 am for the band; come home and take StellaDella to school; drive to the picnic area; park the car; walk to the beginning of the parade route so I could walk the parade with SD; walk the parade; drive back to the Jr. High with SD to pick up MB as the band was bussed back there after the parade (DQ remained at the picnic with friends); return again to the picnic with MB & SD – wait in many long lines for rides; stalk DQ and her friends; text her occasionally to irritate her even more; spend entirely too much money on food ($24 for 2 orders of fries, one chicken on a stick and a jumbo hot dog? – insane!!!!); return home; find out MB’s baseball game is cancelled because of field conditions, therefore he can make Boy Scouts; drive MB to Boy Scout meeting; stay with MB as Scouts require adults to supervise as they take down flags from light poles on Main Street; walk Main Street (about 10 blocks up and back again) with Scouts as they take down flags; drive MB and 3 other Scouts back to the school to finish their regular meeting; return to the school at 8:30pm to collect MB; pick up a Blizzard ice cream from McDonalds (because I needed it!) and finally return home for the night.  Stick a fork in me, I’m done.

Labor Day Joy (249/365)

 
“It is labour indeed that puts the difference on everything.”

John Locke, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, 1690

TIME:  10:55 AM
PLACE:  Park
SUBJECT:  StellaDella, MonkeyBoy & DramaQueen

We walked with HH’s local in the town’s annual Labor Day parade.  SD told me she likes walking in the parade because, as she put it, “I like to spread the joy around by handing out candy to all the people.”  The parade ended at a park, where there were a few inflatables, a couple of rides and carnival games for the kids.  It looks like SD is reaping some of the joy that she sowed during the parade.

Seeing Double (163/365)

 
“The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.”

Dolly Parton (Popular American country Singer and Actress, b.1946)

TIME:  7:07 PM
PLACE:  School parking lot, facing east
SUBJECT:  Double rainbow
~click~ to embiggins

Our parish’s annual summer picnic was this evening.  MonkeyBoy worked the chicken dinner with the Boy Scouts, bussing tables from 4-8pm.  HandsomeHusband dropped him off at 4 (after we tore the house apart looking for his class “B” uniform shirt – never did find it – he borrowed one there), then took StellaDella to her 5:30 T-ball game while DramaQueen and I went to the picnic.  It started raining around 6:30ish when HH and SD joined us – a real downpour - but I could see the sky was clearing a bit in the west.  I was hoping for a rainbow to shoot and I wasn’t disappointed.

Let The Big Wheel Roll (164/365)

 
Rick: How can you close me up? On what grounds?
Captain Renault: I'm shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here!
[a croupier hands Renault a pile of money]
Croupier: Your winnings, sir.
Captain Renault: [sotto voce] Oh, thank you very much. [aloud] Everybody out at once!

Casablanca (Humphrey Bogart, Claude Rains, Marcel Dalio,
Michael Curtiz-director, 1942)

TIME:  8:29 PM
PLACE:  St. Mary's Parish Picnic
SUBJECT:  The "Big Six" Wheel

According to the calendar, the official astronomical date for the first day of summer doesn't occur until June 21st.  However, I declare that the true start of summer began tonight with the first Catholic parish picnic.  About every 2-3 weeks from now until September, there will be one going on for you to attend if you so wish.  Tonight was our parish's picnic and we walked there to enjoy the beer, bingo and brats.  There was gambling (it's a Catholic picnic for heaven's sake!) with the Big Six wheel, a quilt/cash bingo and raffle tickets.   A cold beer stand is a given.  There were booths where you could take your chances to win a theme-filled baskets or a cake.  For the kids, there were several inflatables (a slide, obstacle course and bounce house) and a kid's game area.  As we were leaving, a band was beginning to play.  The best part this year was that they were selling margaritas on the rocks...very yummy!  

When I was single, before HandsomeHusband and the kids, my cousin Kathleen and I would make the rounds of the majority of the parish picnics.  We went for the cheap beer and the gambling.  We always made sure that we made it to our home parishes to meet and hang out with our friends from grade school.  Good times!