I sat fourth of July morning with a roll of white duct tape and aching cheeks from blowing up an entire bag of tiny balloons. I smiled realizing I’d come full circle. I can remember my own mom decorating my banana seat bike for our own small town fourth of July bike parade when I was Tommy’s age. She reminded me as we reminisced that at our parades there were relatively few spectators due to the fact that most of them were marching along in the parade. I had a feeling Pine Island would be similar and I was right. 
Like most of our recent weekends, we spend the fourth on the island at the cottage.
When we arrived at the cottage, The Eagle, our weekly newspaper was sitting on the steps of the cottage. As Scott skimmed it for weekend events he stumbled upon the Island’s Fourth of July Celebration Parade which would include a children’s bike parade. I took a trip to the island dollar store with the boys and we filled our arms with the necessary supplies. Crate paper, balloons, duct tape and windsocks.
Apparently Pine Island officials decided that the island should be on lock down during the parade. They closed the only road and forced any traffic to wait until the entire parade was finished. I guess when you only have one real road a detour is hard to come by.
Pretty much everyone on the island is encouraged to participate. Who needs a float when you have boats and boat trailers? Not the islanders. They just drank bloody marys and decorated and drank more bloody marys and climbed aboard and drank more bloody marys and celebrated the fourth of July.
If you live on the island and play any instrument I think your presence is actually required in the parade. Even if you insist on showing up in your plastic grass skirt and your comfortable blue elastic waistband shorts and insist on warming up in the Winn Dixie parking lot.
The parade master decided I was the official Pine Island Eagle photographer and instructed me to send all photos to the editor. I actually did this and received an email back requesting the name of this grass skirt wearing bag pipe man. Seriously? I just took his photo, I’m certainly not on a first name basis with this one.
Floats are certainly not limited to boats and trailers. Why let a perfectly good golf cart sit at home in the car port when you could decorate it and drive it in the parade?
Even though the bike parade contest was limited to children, that did not stop the adults from dressing up their bikes and their heads and riding along. I love this photo, no actually I love this woman. I want to be the woman with the floppy hat and the antique bike and the patience to sting crate paper in her spokes and the balls to ride down main street in a parade just cause you feel like it. I also sent her to the paper, and no, I don’t know her name either.
If you have a three wheeled bike and a spare portable baby swing it is highly recommended that you drive in the parade.
This was the entire boy scout troop of Pine Island. I could actually double the size of the troop if my boys all joined scouts. The thought of selling popcorn and becoming a den mother is not appealing though so carry on boys, carry on.
If you are lucky enough to have a boat named The Proud Mary that is already painted in such a patriotic way, rest easy. No need to decorate, just put it on the trailer and pile on.
I believe every motor cycle owner on the Island participated.
This guy made me smile.
This guy made me smile more.
What else does one do with a dollar store windmill and some white tape?
If you know my children it will not be hard to guess which little boy insisted on wearing this headband the entire length of the parade. Yes we walked in the parade because we had a stroller and a flag and a boy in that stroller wearing said headband so of course we marched.
I take crafting very seriously. So it shouldn't surprise you to find out that the bulge under this tape is actually one of Petey’s Crocs. After all, what else would help balance a crate paper covered tree branch on a mud flap. Don’t try to find this on Martha Stewart’s website, it’s an original.
The day before I searched through the mosquito infested ditches for the perfect stick because I was certainly not paying for a stick to create my vision.
Islanders were quite concerned about seating and reserved their spots early.
Petey rode along and perfected his flag wave while Finn wowed the spectators with his princess wave.
This trailer rode in the parade near us and made me really ponder crimes in our area. How much agricultural crime must we have in the area to actually designate an entire unit and what exactly is an agricultural crime? I could possibly be guilty for some of these crimes if they include garden neglect and harassing roadside cattle.
The sidewalks her look a little different than we’re used to.
there were even a few that looked like this.
The parade ended at the Elks club were we went inside for some music and free hotdogs for all parade participants. Shortly after finishing our meal we were called outside for the judging of the bike decorations.
As we came outside, Tommy’s bike was missing. We looked around a bit and then noticed the judges had moved it across the parking lot to the winner’s circle.
A smile spread across his face when the judges told him he had taken first place. He stood a little taller and climbed aboard his creation for pictures and his medal.
Later in the afternoon at the Legion, Tommy, still wearing his medal was introduced by one of the parade leaders to the entire bar. she walked him around to each and every patron introducing him as the bike parade champion. Tommy showed off his medal, accepted many congrats and walked away a small town celebrity with an ego far too big for this little island.
Flags and Tootsie Rolls and fake Tattoos made our celebration complete. The memories are quite persistent as I scrub my arm each day with an alcohol pad attempting to remove my glow in the dark patriot heart shaped tattoo.
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