Abercorn 1, Camera 0

As I reviewed my photos from this year's St. Patrick's Day parade, I couldn't help noticing inherent irony. I go for two reasons:  1) to see my first born son march with the BC cadets, and 2) to see the people I know marching with their families or riding on family/business floats.

So for one day of the year, I cook all day on the 16th, purchase various beverages, pack three or four coolers, secure a parking spot at a friend's house, lug said coolers and beach chairs six blocks to our painstakingly saved parking spot at Abercorn and Hull so that when I see people I know walking down the street wearing green--the same people I see other days of every week--I can wave my arms and yell,

"Hey! Hey!"

before running out in the middle of Abercorn and taking their photo. Nine times out of ten, because so many other spectators are doing the same thing, they don't even know I'm there.  

 

 

Then, I park myself on the curb amongst many other mothers of BC cadets, and when I see the BC banner round the corner of Lafayette Square, I run up the street a block and a half so that I can take about two dozen shots of my son as if I'll never get another photo of him in my life. 

One shot isn't enough. I have to get every angle. I become as camera crazy as the paparazzi on Oscar night. And not only that, but I have to get photos of the other cadets because I know their mamas want photos of them too. I somehow forget that other people in the world own cameras, and it's up to me to make sure all the other mothers have for posterity images of their lipstick laden boys.

And thank goodness other people did have their cameras because just as I was asking Kevin McCarthy to take my photo with Master Sergent Osario, I dropped my Fuji S1000 on the pavement, making pieces of plastic and AA batters go flying. Sabra said that from afar, they looked like confetti. Fortunately, the photo card was unharmed, but for the rest of the afternoon, I was relying on the kindness of others for parade pics.

 

This year's event was even more frenzied because it was on a Saturday and the weather was beautiful and more than a million people had descended on downtown Savannah for the event. Two of them were Sabra and Martin Neff, who spent the weekend with us and joined us on the corner of Abercorn and Hull for the four-hour long parade. Michael Tucker stepped out of the parade to have a beer and say hello, and he eventually decided not to get back in the parade, but just stay with us and be a spectator. The Autry family joined us on our truck, as did Bill Sharpley, It was a fun, fun day.

  

 

 And just think: Next year we get to do it all again! Can't wait!