People, people everywhere

People, people, everywhere

What a weekend.

First there was the band review, in front of Golden Valley High
School on Childs and Parsons Avenues. There were 34 bands competeing
in this event from all over California, the farthest being Oroville.
There was a lot of talent among these great bands.

The community was out in full force, in support of these youngsters. They were lined up all along Parsons and Childs Avenues, sitting in their comfortable
lawn chairs and cheering the bands on as they passed by the judges'
stands.

There were some dropped batons, rifles and a couple of flags,
but all in all, they were fantastic. Can you imagine getting up at
the crack of dawn, if not before, in the cold damp weather to get
ready for a review? Now that's dedication.

Then there was the Blue Devil Football game, held at Merced College.
I had to leave in the first quarater to go to Atwater to take a photo
of a 100-year-old lady. When I arrived, she had this huge smile on
her face, as she was greeted by family and friends. Can you imagine
what it would be like to be 100-years-old? I hope I live to be 100.

Upon leaving the Anberry Rehabilitation Center in Atwater, I headed
back to the football game in Merced, it was half-time. I waited
around and then the third quarter started. What an exciting game it
was. The spectators on both sides were cheering their team on. They
were also yelling at the referees when they thought a call was wrong.
Even Coach Lewis of the Blue Devils got on the field shaking his
fist a couple of time, at what he thought was a bad call.

Didn't make any difference--the game continued. This game was the most exciting
game this year. It went into double overtime, but the best
part of all, was when both quarterbacks walked off of the field
together side by side asking each other, "What are you going to do now?"

Then there was the Veterans Day Parade on Sunday. People lined both
sides of Main Street, from G to M street in downtown Merced. It was a
beautiful sight to see. So many people out in support of our veterans.
A sea of red, white and blue filled the air, as the community waved
their flags as each entry passed by. A lot of thank yous from the
crowd could be heard all along the parade route. It filled your
heart with pride and brought tears to the eyes.

No matter where I went this weekend, I saw people, people,
everywhere. What a great community we lived in. We should be so lucky.