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An inaugural parade with quirks
©Associated Press © St. Petersburg Times, published January 16, 2001 WASHINGTON -- This isn't his daddy's parade. Along with the traditional patriotic floats and military bands playing Hail to the Chief, the inaugural parade of the newly sworn President Bush will have a couple of, shall we say, unusual acts. Like the Precision Lawn Chair Demonstration Team, a group of 13 buddies from Colorado who flip and fold aluminum lawn chairs in time to militaristic chants including: "I got myself a new beach chair. This is where I park my derriere." And the Red Hot Mamas, 70 Idaho women in red house dresses and blue aprons who dance with shopping carts while wearing hats composed of groceries piled atop their heads. The lawn chair group espouses no political beliefs and lobbies only for lawn chair safety. The guys also note proudly that they are the only group chosen to represent Colorado in the parade. "It's just everybody's image of Colorado. You think of fun in the sun. You think of snow. You think of people not wearing enough clothes, and you think of people in lawn chairs relaxing, leisure," said chairman Richard Carnes. A true mark of their devotion may be that, whatever frigid temperatures befall Washington on Saturday,the men intend to march in shorts, Hawaiian shirts and sunglasses. "You will be able to see the white legs and the hair stand up on our white legs," said Carnes, 41. This will be their first inaugural parade, though they performed as a warm-up act for Bill Clinton's parade in 1993. They began their rise to the presidential history books in 1984, when the guys, who jokingly called themselves members of the Pro Leisure Tour, thought up the lawn chair gimmick to march in the Vail, Colo., Fourth of July parade. "There was a whole group of us and none of us was married, and we were trying to come up with something silly and attention-getting," Carnes said. The Red Hot Mamas also are likely to catch some attention Saturday. Their hats are designed to be aerodynamic with a variety of items, including cereal boxes, potato chip bags and milk jugs. Each is topped off with red, white and blue balloons. One of their most intricate moves is the kick line, which is much like that performed by a chorus line but done while holding their shopping carts behind them. The women, who range in age from 35 to 76, started about 10 years ago when Mikki Stevens, a veteran of musical comedy productions from Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, formed the group. Most of the women are mothers or grandmothers. Some are waitresses, bank tellers, social workers. Like the lawn chair battalion, they are non-partisan. "We represent the women of America that always wanted to be Ginger Rogers or Debbie Reynolds," said Stevens, 52. On the more traditional side, about 13 to 15 floats will glide through the parade down Pennsylvania Avenue. The floats include a representation of the American bald eagle, which previously appeared in parades for Ronald Reagan, Clinton and the first George Bush 12 years ago. All told, more than 10,500 people representing 45 states will participate in the parade, among them members of 38 high school and college bands from across the country and each branch of the military, as well as a team of guards mounted on horses. The parade begins near the Capitol at 2 p.m. and is expected to last about 2 1/2 hours, ending just past the White House. Television networks are expected to air at least part.
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From the Times wire desk
From the AP |
