Saturday August 20

Saying for the Day: He who laughs last thinks slowest.
------It was a beautiful day in Pigeon Falls and Mayor South was so happy she almost turned a somersault on main street. Now that would have been something to see. Rodney McDonald led the parade followed by two of his clown friends. He handed out little stuffed animals which came in the boxcar. People acted as if they were getting a treasure. Behind the clowns was the Sesame Street Band which consisted of four members. How they could march, play instruments, and wear those heavy costumes is beyond me. They did a wonderful job/ Next came a nurse and a fireman representing the service professions. Then , the Scottish bagpipe player, sounding like somebody had a cat by the tail, but everybody loved it. Then the Great Pigeon , in a car with a great pigeon in the rumble seat. Buddy East only hauls that old car out for this parade. Then there were various floats from one group or another including a big Winnie the Pooh in a dump truck. Santa Claus rode in the back of a truck with a case of huge Coca Cola bottles. People thought he might give out cans of Coke but he just waved. All in all it was an impressive parade for a small town like Pigeon Falls. The tourists who lined the sidewalks and sat on the benches the city put out for the day seemed to feel it was worth coming for, a touch of old America. Well I'll keep you informed.
------ I had a good night last night. In the morning Betty and I worked on creating a rail school bus. We bought a $6.00 Bus from Wal Mart and cut part of the bottom off. Then we installed a train motor we bought at the convention. Now we have a working rail school bus. It runs well as long as we don't run it too fast at the curves. We added the gas station, two new lights, and the parade group to the layout. We rehung the Pigeon Falls banner. Then we added some extra shelves to the garage for the trains. Betty got the maill and there was a couple of CD's from Chris with family pictures. Some of these we'll post to the family web site at www.familylinna.com .We cleaned up and went to Church. Jack preached which was a surprise. Pastor Tammy and Jay and their two kids were there visiting. It was good to see them again. After Church Betty went off with her birthday club so even if I need a breathing treatment there is nobody to give it.

GBYA