That's more like it! We had twenty-four people on the street and we sounded great! We were marching for our friends in the Clifton Fire Department. We appreciate that they provide us with liquid refreshment before the parade, especially when it's hot.

This was the fourth day of a 90 degree heat wave, and a light breeze made the parade tolerable. Afterward as we were playing at the carnival, we could see a band of very dark clouds coming from the north off Lake Ontario. This marked the beginning of a much anticipated cold front. We had time to play a few of our favorite songs before it started raining. Liz and Candy brought extra zipper closure plastic bags to protect our music and electronic devices. (See the blog from Livonia 2012 and you'll understand.) Land of 1000 Dances, El Tigre, Border Crossing and Ghost Riders sounded especially good since we had full instrumentation.

Our banner carriers were Ashley's sister, Libby, and Kelly's friend. Aleesa. Libby and Aleesa both play flute, and we're hoping that they will be joining us soon as instrumentalists. It was nice to see Mel for the first time this season, even though she and Brian were wearing our old uniform shirts. We'll make sure they have new uniform shirts for the next parade.

Kelley's Heroes is based in Caledonia, which has been dealing with very sad news this week. Five recent Cal-Mum graduates were in a car crash on Tuesday. Two were dead at the scene - Taylor and Chris; one died Friday - Emily; and two remain in guarded condition - Joanne and Michaela. These are honor students and good kids. They were on their home from volunteering at a summer camp for students with special needs. Chris and Emily are the nephew and niece of our band member, Kathy, and Michaela is a cousin to our band member, Brian. Our thoughts and prayers are with all the families who are dealing with this horrific tragedy.

Our next parade is Thursday in Hilton. See you there!