"True heroism is remarkably sober, very un-dramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost but the urge to serve others at whatever cost." -Arthur Ashe
We honor those who have served our country, past and present. Happy Memorial Day.
A few great slideshows of the parade! Thanks so much for sharing them.
The official Metuchen Chamber of Commerce Memorial Day Parade slideshow as photographed by Julie Walton Shaver:
http://www.juliewaltonshaver.com/Metuchen-Memorial-Day-2009
AND
From Terry Geerdts of A Pretty Pixel Studio:
http://aprettypixel.net/METUCHENMEMORIALDAYPARADE2009/
I asked a question, you asked a question of a question.
Remember, if you turn left 3 times, you go right.
You are complaining about complaining about complainers?
Some people think criticism is a worthy pursuit.
You are complaining about the complainers?
Unfortunately, every thread on this blog seems to be used to bash something/someone in Metuchen -- maybe democrates verses repulicans, maybe the council, maybe the efforts of the pool -- it's so sad that we finally have a nice central on-line place to get local information -- but the complainers of town choose to use it differently. If only their powers could be used for good rather than evil! :-)
Memorial day weekend is the opening weekend of the pool,the start of summer, they kind of go together.
Who cares about the pool in this thread??? Thanks for a nice parade!!! It was really great to see our Vets getting a warm welcome. It really is a nice idea having the Vets ride in the cars. I hope they had a great time.
The pool is currently heated with solar power.
Seems like these days its always campaign season in Metuchen. Sucks for us, but we have a new breed of "politicians" in town, with very aggressive supporters. Yuck.
A solar-powered heating system for the pool would be a good idea.
One would think that since it is campaign season, all the hot air would have warmed up the water in the pool more.
The pool was nice, the parade was great, it was a great weekend. Course, now we just have to work to speed up global warming, because this cold weather is for the birds.
With so many touching moments and beautiful faces at the parade and ceremony, the slide show has a new twist this year. Can't wait to show it to you!
Deep, heartfelt thanks to the Memorial Day parade committee for all their hard work. I'll let you know when the presentation of this amazing event is up on my blog.
Peace and blessings,
--jules
saw Manley and Cammarano walking side by side....warmed my heart!
I even heard Manley was going to start a web site to get the pool temperature raised! www.heatthepool.com will be this summer's big hit.
I saw no disrespect at the parade. In fact, the parade and ceremony were both fabulous. Many thanks to the organizers and volunteers who treated us to a wonderful day.
My dad was one of the veterans riding in a convertible, along with the fathers of dear friends: Howard Smith, WWII Purple Heart recipient, and Arthur Samsoe, WWII survivor of Iwo Jima and Guam. All three men are quite humble and were reluctant be in the parade at all but found themselves overwhelmed by the sincere appreciation shown by everyone on the parade route. People shook their hands, said thank you, cheered - a few even filled-up while doing so.
It was a privilege to honor our dads and we all want to thank the Chamber and our town, every scout, every bike, every musician, every council representative, for the opportunity to publicly do so. Metuchen's Memorial Day parade and ceremony really showcase the best of our small town.
And a special shout-out to Jack, our folks' driver. His 1966 convertible was very cool, but not as half as cool as Jack and his wife Isabelle. They stayed at the service and drove our parents home afterward. Thanks for your graciousness and humor Jack - see you at the next antique car night!
Rich Webers wife is on the pool comish, he's a Dem, so must be thier fault, Justin Manley tried to get the water temp raised, but big bully Rick Dyas said no (which is what former mayor Ed Obrien told him to say)
Howz that?
The pool indeed was nice, it looked good.
The water was cold though, which political party should I blame for that?
What a great weekend Metuchen just had. Family Fun day at the pool was a big hit. The pool looked great (the new umbrellas should be a great addition). The Memorial Day parade was superb (the Memorial Park ceremony was, as always, very moving - thank you Chamber of Commerce). American Legion hot dogs and (birch) beer. I missed the Police/Fire softball game. Anyone know who won / how it went? Any photos?
Groups are moved around in the line of march for a variety of reasons. In the past, some parents have expressed concerns about the exhaust from the fire trucks and ambulances, and also the noise of the sirens.
As someone that has been deeply involved with both parades for several years, I can't express enough how much work goes into both parades (along with the other events we run). They truly are year round events, and I feel they they have grown tremendously, not only in terms of groups participating, but the number of people watching. The parade committee, Caroline Woodruff in the Chamber office, and all of the volunteers (ALWAYS looking for more, so feel free to call the office), do a remarkable job.
Yeah the bikes not being last had some people confused. People were saying - well that's the end of the parade - as we rode past. Later some people told me for few minutes they were wondering if the first aid squad and Fire Department had to go on a call, and that was the reason they weren't behind the bikes.
Actually I think they fell behind because they had kids with them.
Somehow I missed the disrespect - what did the mayor and council do that was disrespectful?? They walked too slowly? Did they actually fall behind, as in did the police really overtake them walking? Or was that another instance of re-ordering? Bikes used to be last and that was not the case this time.
There's an idea - exercise bikes instead of chairs at the dais.
why do the mayor and the council hate our town so much? How dare they disrespect our fallen heroes
It was a nice parade although our mayor and council fell behind the police dept in the parade, maybe they need to hold meetings at the Y every once in a while? Let them meet while on treadmills?