It is, once again, that time of year; the first weekend in June, Good Ol' Days. Every year, as sure as the sun sets in the West, the insanity known as Good Ol' Days takes place.
Some quick Good Ol' Days facts:
1: It kicks off with what we call (loosely) a parade on Friday night consisting mainly of pick-ups and tractors, a few "floats", horses, and Shriner's (old guys wearing fezzes) driving mini cars in circles, and anyone who wants to be in the parade can be.
Some quick Good Ol' Days facts:
1: It kicks off with what we call (loosely) a parade on Friday night consisting mainly of pick-ups and tractors, a few "floats", horses, and Shriner's (old guys wearing fezzes) driving mini cars in circles, and anyone who wants to be in the parade can be.
2: There is a carnival (again I use the term loosely) which my children have never attended because it is unsafe and unsavory. All of the riffraff comes out of the woodwork - both from here, and from other towns. (when they were younger, they complained, but now they see the wisdom of avoiding it at all costs)
3: There are vendors selling all kinds of crap - er, stuff, as well as food. Actually, most of the food is very good, and some of the crafts are good, too, it just depends on who comes. There's also a load of junk - ugly stuff your grandma wouldn't want.
4: Good Ol 'Days is not unique. In any way. There are all kinds of these festivals all over the Four State area and beyond, I'm sure, with various names like Bushwacker Days, and Little Balkan's Days, etc., but a good majority of the vendors and bands are the same.
5: Downtown is a parking nightmare. People get stupid(er) during Good Ol' Days and will park absolutely anywhere, even in clearly marked "No Parking" areas. If there's anything you need downtown and if you are a Good Ol' Days hater, you get it done on Friday before 5:00 p.m. or you wait until Monday.
You either love Good Ol' Days or you hate it. Some really dread it and absolutely avoid the downtown area the whole weekend, but usually even the haters will pop in for something specific like funnel cake or smoked meat, etc. We used to always go, but in recent years it has been boring - same old stuff and not worth the hassle of getting there. Of course here at the funeral home it's always crazy because the Good Ol' Days Committee uses our garage to house the golf carts for management and law enforcement to use over the weekend. That and we have to rope off everything or we get people trying to park in our staging area, parking lot, and breezeway. There have been a few times when people have moved the ropes and parked anyway. We always have to put signs on our garage doors telling people not to block the entrance, because they sure have done it and will continue to do it. Happens every year at least once, even with the signs.
This year, our Youth will have a float in the parade, which I am curious to see. We haven't been going to the parades the last three years or so, but since both the boys will be in this one, we'll be there. Or, it might just be me, if Hubby will be driving in it this year. The city got new police cars - Ford Explorers - so they will probably have more than one car in the parade this year. One rule of Good Ol' Days (for the PD) is that everybody works it. So even though he is technically off this weekend, he really isn't because he will be working downtown. When I worked dispatch we didn't have a separate dispatch center for officers working downtown like they do now. We also didn't have two-person dispatching - just one dispatcher running the whole show. If things got crazy like when the river was out or grass fires, etc., firemen would help handle phones, and if it got really bad, off-duty officers and dispatchers would come help. The nice thing about the emergency services family is that when it hits the fan, they are in there helping, without fail.
The only good thing about the funeral home being downtown during Good Ol' Days is that I always have a parking space in the garage if I want to come down. So, if Bobby is driving in it, I will just hang out at work until parade time and maybe see if Dad wants to go watch it with me. If he's working the parade, then I will go hang out with him on whatever street corner he's stationed at. Sounds like a fabulous way to spend a Friday night, right? It's not so bad - some of the people on the floats throw out candy, and the people-watching is spectacular ;)
I leave you with a shot of Howie peeking at me from his perch on the base of the chaise of the couch.
5: Downtown is a parking nightmare. People get stupid(er) during Good Ol' Days and will park absolutely anywhere, even in clearly marked "No Parking" areas. If there's anything you need downtown and if you are a Good Ol' Days hater, you get it done on Friday before 5:00 p.m. or you wait until Monday.
You either love Good Ol' Days or you hate it. Some really dread it and absolutely avoid the downtown area the whole weekend, but usually even the haters will pop in for something specific like funnel cake or smoked meat, etc. We used to always go, but in recent years it has been boring - same old stuff and not worth the hassle of getting there. Of course here at the funeral home it's always crazy because the Good Ol' Days Committee uses our garage to house the golf carts for management and law enforcement to use over the weekend. That and we have to rope off everything or we get people trying to park in our staging area, parking lot, and breezeway. There have been a few times when people have moved the ropes and parked anyway. We always have to put signs on our garage doors telling people not to block the entrance, because they sure have done it and will continue to do it. Happens every year at least once, even with the signs.
This year, our Youth will have a float in the parade, which I am curious to see. We haven't been going to the parades the last three years or so, but since both the boys will be in this one, we'll be there. Or, it might just be me, if Hubby will be driving in it this year. The city got new police cars - Ford Explorers - so they will probably have more than one car in the parade this year. One rule of Good Ol' Days (for the PD) is that everybody works it. So even though he is technically off this weekend, he really isn't because he will be working downtown. When I worked dispatch we didn't have a separate dispatch center for officers working downtown like they do now. We also didn't have two-person dispatching - just one dispatcher running the whole show. If things got crazy like when the river was out or grass fires, etc., firemen would help handle phones, and if it got really bad, off-duty officers and dispatchers would come help. The nice thing about the emergency services family is that when it hits the fan, they are in there helping, without fail.
The only good thing about the funeral home being downtown during Good Ol' Days is that I always have a parking space in the garage if I want to come down. So, if Bobby is driving in it, I will just hang out at work until parade time and maybe see if Dad wants to go watch it with me. If he's working the parade, then I will go hang out with him on whatever street corner he's stationed at. Sounds like a fabulous way to spend a Friday night, right? It's not so bad - some of the people on the floats throw out candy, and the people-watching is spectacular ;)
I leave you with a shot of Howie peeking at me from his perch on the base of the chaise of the couch.
No comments:
Post a Comment