Though the cold wind was still blowing on Sunday morning, the sun was out, and it looked like it was going to be a lovely day. My plan was to drag Mom out to the airport to look at the World War II planes and take some photos. Our street wasn’t supposed to be blocked off until 4 pm, so we putz around the house a little and watched the people setting things up for a dedication ceremony later in the day. After lunch I stepped outside to check the weather, and lo and behold, they had blocked off our street early!
While I certainly could have convinced the nice policeman to let us in and out for a trip to the airport, it was just enough hassle to make me lose interest in doing so. Instead, we sat out on the porch drinking coffee and watching people moving around heavy equipment … until Mom decided her front sidewalk needed to be swept. Obviously, I could allow my elderly mother to sweep the front sidewalk while I lolly-gagged around on the porch drinking coffee while being young and fit, so I volunteered for duty.
As you can see behind me, they had begun to stack the chairs on the street for Monday’s big event, so I had an audience while I worked, one of whom –the nice policeman guarding the entrance to our street– came over to say hello. Naturally, my mother had to have a photo.
Once I finished chatting with Officer Castillo and sweeping the sidewalks, I noticed the dedication ceremony for the submarine in front of the museum was in full swing, so I toddled down there to see what was being said and who was there. The reenactment group that performs at the museums other complex just down the road was in attendance.
After the ceremony ended they went back to making the war come to life a few blocks away, something that usually only happens a couple times a day … except during big events like this one when it seems like it was non-stop bombs and gunfire. It’s loud too, and always sounds like we are in the middle of a war zone while sitting in Mom’s house.†
Since the weather had become so pleasant, Mom and I wandered over to the courtyard again to listen to the band of the moment, mingle with the tourists, stroll along the memorial walkways, and watch the WWII planes doing flyovers.
I even managed to convince my mom to sit in front of my camera and let me take a photo! It’s a rare event, indeed!
By this time the sun was starting to set, the cold wind was picking up again and the activities were all winding down, so we made our way back to the house for dinner, hot chocolate, and more heartwarming seasonal programming to finish out our day.
Footnotes- † If you ever wonder why I don’t flinch when there’s something that sounds like a bomb or gun going off? Growing up with WWII battles happening just down the street makes the sounds of war seem commonplace and safe to ignore. This will probably get me killed some day. [↩]