It was another beautiful evening for a parade as we marched with the Chili FD. As usual, all Clifton residents and hundreds of people from the surrounding area were in attendance.

Poor Karen L.! She had a little trouble getting to Clifton. First, North Road was closed because of road work. When she got to the staging area, she went to the right and we were lined up to the left. Since we were close to the front of the parade, we were already well on our way when Karen realized where we were. She finally caught up with us at the beer tent, and we were happy to have her.

It was nice to see Ben tonight. He's had a busy summer and hasn't been able to march very much. Ben and his wife, Heather, are expecting their first child at the end of this month. That will make Art a grandpa! On the subject of babies, Jon and Kelly and their son James just welcomed their new baby, A.J..

Marcia was comfortably warm when the parade started, but she was feeling chilly by the end of the evening. Ashley hurt her back and couldn't march, so she had to watch from the sidelines while her sister, Libby, marched with us.

The Pittsford FD Band invited us to join them in playing Sousa's The Stars and Stripes Forever. We don't have that piece in our folios, but they encouraged us to look on with them. Daylight was fading and the notes are pretty small. Those of us who were familiar with the music were able to follow along, but those of us who who were sight-reading had quite a challenge. By the way, The Stars and Stripes Forever was declared the National March of the United States by an act of Congress in 1987.

Our next event is the Brighton Community Homecoming Parade on Friday, September 11. See you there!