Who Doesn't Love A Parade?

 It was a thing of beauty, that parade, and we all had a marvelous time. Gibson sat so still on his mama's lap, completely overwhelmed, maybe, perhaps tired too, but he bounced and clapped his hands to the bands and the sweetest thing I've ever seen was the way he kissed his Auntie May after it was all over. She asked for a kiss and he gave her one, right on the mouth of course, and then he leaned over and gave me one and then he leaned back into May and then back to me and then he decided that May was the one truly worth kissing and he gave her at least five of the most deliberate, somber, sweet kisses I have ever seen in my life. 

She was so delighted.

And later he smiled for the camera while his Boppy was holding him.

Wenches and beauty queens and school board members alike couldn't help but walk over to the boy and gently slip necklaces over his head. 

Now Owen, he was ALL about it. When we got there he immediately joined up with a pack of other kids and began to play hide-and-seek right on the front sidewalk and they were joyous. When the parade started, he remembered about beads and candy and by the time it was all over, he and his grandfather had collected enough booty to require a shopping bag to put it all in.

The best front row seats you can get. 

Cheryl Hines was the Grand Master and she lead the whole thing, sitting on a white convertible. One of my favorite things about Hank's party is the way the people in the parade react to the party crowd which looks a little like this.

Ms. Cheryl laughed and waved at the group standing up there who were hooting and yelling for her to come and party. She made the "call me" motion with thumb and little finger extended by her ear. I'm sorry I didn't get that one but here's what I did get. 

Here's another lady from the parade reacting to the group.

She knocked me out. It was like while all the other ladies in her group were dressed up with velvet-corseted bosoms and long, flowing skirts, she decided to rock her very own style. And I dug it.

Here's the Jefferson County (where I live) Watermelon Queen. Had to snap that one.

They kept to the far side of the street. One doesn't blame them.

Here's a darling little cutie. She looked so proud to be in the parade wearing her gown and long white gloves. 

And what can you say? It ain't a parade in the south without some beauty queens, without some sort of faux royal court. 

Here's one of our Real, True Royal Court.

TOGI!

After I took the picture I said, "Bloggable?"

"Always," he answered. 

Togi's latest Facebook offering is this quote of his: "So science says I evolved from apes but I'm pretty sure I evolved from heterosexuals."

Togi is pretty much the main reason I visit Facebook. 

So yes, it was a fabulous parade party. Oh! And there was food! Of course. And a keg of beer somewhere I think. One of these years I'm going to make Bloody Mary's and take a thermos. Maybe. I still needed a nap this afternoon and all I drank was water. 

Here's the big, posed picture after the whole thing was over, when the police cars and motorcycles and Shriners and beauty queens and City Commissioners and marching bands and movie stars and Various Krews and Kings and Queens had passed and left us all to the glory of a completely blue-skyed gorgeous day. 

I'm so glad we went. 

And oh! I'm not leaving for Asheville until Monday morning. Lis had a gig today and just couldn't work out the logistics of fitting everything for that into the car along with all her cake-baking equipment and clothes. No big deal. 

Thanks for coming along, y'all.

So much love...Ms. Moon

Wherein I Steal Pictures From Hank's Facebook Page And Cover A Lot Of Ground

And it is Friday.

Tomorrow is Tallahassee's big springtime parade and thus, my son Hank's big party wherein people of all ages and degrees of tattoedness gather to watch the parade from Hank's front yard, which is basically the street the parade goes down, eat yummy foods and do early-morning drinking.

Well, some of us.
Some of us cannot drink beer at ten a.m. due to the fact that we would be passed out by one p.m.
Hank makes a big fun party of this event and in fact, this gathering has become known as the stationary float. I did not attend last year and am still regretting that. I hear that Hank acquired a megaphone.

Damn.

So I just went back and found the post where I talked about the parade party two years ago. You can read it here.  And also see some precious pictures of Owen before he became a grown-up boy. That was the year we all turned our backs on the governor as he walked by. Haha! Good times.

Man, time flies. That was also the year I had short red hair because I was playing Truvy in Steel Magnolias. That play about did me in. I'm still exhausted from it. And the girl who played Annelle went on to be a contestant on America's Next Top Model where she became known as quite the character.

From the Monticello Opera House to International Fame.
Wowzer!

And in that same amount of time I've become old, lame, halt, and the grandmother of another child. And my mother died. And I was in another play. And...
Wait. How did I get from Hank's party to America's Next Top Model to wherever the hell I am now?

I have no idea.

I also have no idea what in hell smells like moldy death in my bathroom but I need to figure that out and do something about it. I am thinking that maybe one of my precious grandsons peed on something in there when they stayed here last weekend. Whatever. It's bad.

And I have to go to town and I have to start packing because Lis and I are leaving on Sunday morning to drive to Asheville to help Jessie get ready for her wedding because SHE IS GETTING MARRIED A WEEK FROM TOMORROW!!!!

Lis is making the cake and I am going to help her. And be Jessie's handmaiden. Lis and I are going to be staying for a few days at the fancy-shmancy condo where we stayed a few years ago. I wonder if the Kava Bar is still downstairs from that place? Remember the Kava Bar? Not only did I learn to drink Kava there, I got a crush on the Kava Girl and stole their wifi.
Why is it that of all the things we did in Asheville on that trip, the Kava Bar plays one of the biggest roles in my memory?

I'm nuts.

Billy just texted me with this message: Quit being so crazy pants.

Okay.

Happy Friday, y'all.

Love...Ms. Moon

Love Is Never Wrong

So this morning we got up early and went to town to go to Hank's 7th Annual Springtime Tallahassee Parade Party.
I love this party. Every one loves this party. Babies, grandmas, mamas, daddies, uncles, aunts, kids, gothie sort of people, gay, straight, bordering-on-everything-why-try-to-define-it?
Mr. Moon and I picked up Lily and Owen because Jason had to work and we drove downtown and got a fabulous parking spot and walked over to Hank's where the drinkin' had already begun (hey! it's tradition!) and a grit bar was set up.
A grit bar! Do you hear me?
Grits in a crockpot with various sorts of cheeses and bacon to put on top! Awesome! Hank is brilliant. And lots of other food including deviled eggs that I made from my hen's beautiful eggs and berries with blue cheese and nuts and parsley that Taylor made and a fantastic breakfast casserole that Lily made and okay, I didn't drink but I sho' did eat.

All right. Mostly I'm going to give you pictures.

Here's Taylor, since I already mentioned her. I love me some Tay-Tay.

Here's a beautiful tattoo on the lovely bosom of a woman named Loren. I asked her permission to shoot and post. She graciously gave it.

Our Togi who is in a pact with May to be hot FOREVER!

Someday I'm going to have to get Togi to show me how to do eye make-up. His is always exquisite. On one of his last posts on FaceBook he said that he is "heteroskeptical."
Togi is like Yoda, only with much better grammar.

Okay. Okay. Background information. You know that our governor here is a criminal, right? If he weren't richer than Midas, he'd be in jail. One of those CEO-I-had-no-idea-our-company-was-defrauding-Medicare! things. And he's been in office for four months and his approval rating is something like 12%.
That's low, baby.
So anyway, the dude just does not give a shit. And he agreed to be the grand marshal of the parade and I have no idea whose bright idea it was to ask him but anyway, there was great talk beforehand about how to show disapproval when the Crim Gov walked by.
A few strategies were to wear black and to stand and turn backs to him as he walked by.
So I did that. But after I turned back around I snapped this:

It would appear that Voldemort turned his back on US! I can't imagine why. Dig the bullet-proof vested escorts.

Signs like this were in abundance:

I got one picture of a child holding one with her mama in the background, arms folded across her chest and a scowl on her face. I'd post it but who knows what the repercussions might be and I'm courteous like that.

Anyway, after (P)Rick Scott went by (my brother gave him that name- it's his gansta' name) the real fun began and we cheered everyone from the Krishnas to the highschool bands to the martial arts schools to the beauty queens to the pirates.

A beauty queen. She looks terrified. I love this picture. She's probably looking at us.

These gals got a LOT of applause from us.

Who doesn't love a marching band?

I have no idea what this was about. None. Whatever. They rocked.

May got to show up before work and it was a JOY to see her. I cried after I took this one. Just cried.


Owen pretty much wore this expression the entire time.

As you can see, though, he figured out the beads.

My niece, Riley, posing with some of her treasure.


Jessie, Riley, my brother Chuck (funniest man in the world), Kian (my nephew), Owen and Bop.

I have no idea why Kian and Riley's eyes are closed but they were in the other picture I took of them too, so...

Jessie getting down.


Bop doing a little street boogie. Ain't he cute?

Guys on the float that got the biggest cheer from our little corner of the street.

And the whole group.

Hank calls this party "the float that doesn't move." There's even a banner.

Yeah. It was a great party.

I wish you could have been there. You'd have fit right in. I just know it.

Much love from Springtime Tallahassee. Okay, actually, Lloyd at this point.

Ms. Moon