Block Island firefighters scramble.
One of the highlights of spending the Fourth of July on Block Island is the parade. The Tournament of Roses this is not. The Tournament of Beach Roses perhaps…
Oh, there are the requisite flags and marching bands. But the parade is renowned from one end of Rhode Island to the other for things like:
Girls in bikinis dancing in the back of a truck.
Cardboard floats.
Rock bands on flatbed trailers.
Cars.
Kids.
Dogs.
Whatever…
It’s an anything-goes display of genuine patriotism.
So there we were perched in our usual spot on the hill next to the fire station (that’s my uncle in the red hat). The fire trucks were parked in the field across the street so the space in the garage could be used as a seating area for the steak fry that follows the parade.
Suddenly, a guy comes running through the crowd yelling for everyone to get out of the way. He literally jumped over my nephew.
At first, we all thought it was part of some wacky parade stunt — or maybe someone who’d had beer for breakfast.
Then we realized it was an actual fire call.
The parade stopped in its tracks. The bands fell silent, giving way to sirens. The trucks raced off towards town. But then, as they say, the show must go on. So it did.
I heard the incident was minor. (Being on vacation, I didn’t feel compelled to dig for the rest of the story.)
Hats off to the Block Island Volunteer Fire Department. Sorry you missed the parade. It was a good one — and especially memorable thanks to your quick action.
Next year, you deserve to sit on the hill.
