The Third of July Parade is done for this year. It was, as always, wonderful to see so many people out to watch the parade.

However, I had to wonder when I left the parade who had the worst behavior out along the route — the children or the adults. Candy being thrown out is a given for our parade, but there are too many children running out into the road to pick up a piece of candy while their parents sit and watch them. I have even watched them go into the middle of the road for a piece of candy and no one seems to care. Are we waiting for someone to get hit by a vehicle for a piece of candy before we teach our kids not to do that?

Then there are the adults. I watched one grown man near Security State Bank running across the road to try to get a toy. I must congratulate the person handing those out for not giving him one. After that, he ran into the middle of the street to get some candy.

Another gentleman must have thought this was a vehicle cruise for people to check out the four-wheel vehicles, because he went to the middle of the road to check one of them out, not one bit worried that he was doing this in front of his children. He was constantly in the street trying to catch candy or toys or other things being passed out, even though his kids were doing a great job of getting their own.

As I said, I don’t know who was worse — the children or the adults.

Adults need to act like adults in front of their children and they also need to keep their children safe and out of the street. Ask yourself this question, is a piece of candy worth having your child injured?

Thank you to all those who participated in the parade, it was fun — even with the ill-mannered adults.

 

Kathy Diaz

Albert Lea