Fun With PFLAG

(Me and my cute little friend Josie)

I keep forgetting how much I love parades. Today I walked with PFLAG in the Crystal Lake parade. It's a great parade and a very nice route...and the crowd was impressive. PFLAG gets a HUGE ovation whenever they walk in Chicago parades. In Crystal Lake...a little less enthusiasm, but still, it was OK. Sometimes there were just crickets chirping as people stared at us like we were aliens, but some groups and individuals along the way made up for it. And then there were, as Josie pointed out, those occasional lone teens or couples bravely cheering. Some of the people in our group had giant soap bubble wands, and I have to say, I underestimated the appeal of bubbles! I hope the children of Crystal Lake will forever associate gays with happiness and bubbles, because their unbridled joy was something to behold. Only one parent hissed at her child, "STAY BACK!!" when the kid went for a bubble. Yes, young person, stay away from the gay bubbles, for they may taint you!

I posted some pictures on Flickr, because it was easier than resizing a bunch for blogger.

It was amusing that we were placed behind some out-of-town Christian school. For the record, nobody burst into flames...well, not in the literal sense. Flaming yes. On fire, no.

The event was made more adventuresome because I rode my bike up there, which took a little over an hour. The trip gave me the opportunity to use the extended pannier pouches on my rear bike bag, which, even though I've had the bag for a few years now, I NEVER KNEW I HAD!!



In addition to all my usual gear, I took a pair of Crocs (one purple, one yellow), some non bike shorts, a rainbow flag to wave, and a string bag to carry my water and camera during the parade. It was a great morning for a ride, and I was able to lock my bike at the police station (the staging area was next door). Plus I lucked out when I got there, because a nice lady let me into the police station lobby so I was able to change, pee and cool off in air conditioned comfort while the rest of the poor parade marchers stood in long porta-a-potty lines.

The ride home went fast, and I treated myself to a delicious DQ cone afterward. Tomorrow is Elgin's parade, which I'll also bike to with Roland and Amy, and I may venture into Sleepy Hollow for theirs too. It's finally starting to feel like a holiday weekend.