A Nauga 4th!

Hi Folks!

I think I'll skip a week and resume telling you about my trip up north with granddad next week. Can't pass up the chance to let you know all about the big happenings hereabouts on the 4th of July. Yes indeedee... theyse always doin things up proud around here on Independence Day.

Well things always start out nice and early over in Biggsbee where they hold the annual holiday parade. All the folks start streamin in from the surrounding areas to make sure they get a good place along Main Street where the parade takes place. As usual there was the standard shenanigans you see at these events. Like most years, things started off with the greased Nauga competition. You might have heard about it... that's where a bunch of kids... usually grade school age... although they did do it this year with high school kids and even one for the grown ups a little later on... get arranged in a circle around a greased up Nauga... a small one of the kids... bigger ones for the high schoolers and the adults... which is then set loose… the Nauga that is.

Once that Nauga takes its first step the kids all swarm in to try and grab ahold of it. Did I mention that they set up a fenced-off ring so that the Nauga can't get too far away? No... well they do. Once those kids got in motion that Nauga just high tailed it as fast as those little legs would take it. Kids started slippin and slidin as they tried to grab it... but that Nauga just kept runnin. I just laughed myself hoarse watchin' them all go about it. It took about ten minutes or so before that Nauga started to get winded. Up until then it just was leavin those kids strewn out behind it as it ran around the enclosure.

'Cept for Mary Jo Bennett... she just stayed there in one part of the area all by herself with her hands in the pockets of her overalls. Just stood there watchin all the other kids run and shout and get themselves all tired out and covered with grease. Then, once that Nauga got itself tired out she just took her hands out of her pockets and held them out in front of her. Seems she'd been hidin a bunch of radishes in there. Well once that Nauga caught a whiff of that radish smell it just trotted straight up to her and started eatin straight out of her hands. Didn't take her no effort at all to grab ahold and secure that critter. Smart girl that Mary Jo. Think she's got a bright future in front of her that's for sure.

After all the hullabaloo about the greased Naugas was done theyse started the big parade. It had all the standard stuff. The mounted park police were out in all their finery followed by the Biggsbee High School marching band. Good thing them police are good riders... more than once one of them horses got spooked by a blast from the tuba section. Seemed like it was all they could do a couple of times to keep their horses under control. Maybe it'd be better to have them come after the band next year... the band members had to step lively a few times to avoid a few... accidents that were left by the horses as they passed by.

Course after them folks came the rest of the parade. The folks from the Fire Dep't were all out in their Sunday best walkin next to their pride and joy... an 1860s era hand pumper drawn by a harnessed team of four Nargles. Now that's a sight to see... them Nargles struttin down the street pullin that pumper all decked out in red, white, and blue bunting... just gleamin from a good polishing by the fire folks. Makes a body proud just to see it.

Then of course there were the floats interspersed with other folks dressed as clowns or performing music and other stuff. There were about seven floats in all... sponsored by the stores in and about Biggsbee. Several of them had Nauga themes... Nauga wrestling... Nauaga riding... Naugas through the ages... you get the drift. But the rest were focused on something that could be linked to the sponsor business. Ben Watson's Army-Navy Surplus Store did a float about local folks contributions during the world wars. The float by Sven's Hardware had a workshop theme featuring all sorts of tools and DYI projects and stuff. Even had some folks up there runnin machinery and using saws and stuff to cut stuff up as the float went by. Pretty clever float all in all. I know I'll be in his store come Thursday to see what other toys... I mean tools just might be important for me to have. Then there was a float sponsored by Thompson's Plumbing which examined the benefits of indoor plumbing. It had a big long transparent set of pipes showing water runnin to this big sink setup with another set showing what happens to other stuff after it leaves the bathroom. The kids all loved it... their parents... not so much. I bet Al Thompson will get an ear full over the next week or so...

Well, after the last of the parade went by, everybody just pulled up stakes and wandered out to the Fairgrounds to stake a claim for a good spot to watch the fireworks. That's the real highlight of the day. They open up all the food concessions just for the day... so folks won't go hungry of course. Funnel cakes... deep fried peanut brittle... and of course Nauga wurst, Nauga fingers, Nauga sausage, and Nauga Tenders. Hmmmm Hmmmm. Nothing better than a good mix of them Nauga treats followed up by strawberries and cream on top of a nice round Nauga cake.

Folks bring blankets and chairs and some even bring lounge chairs so theyse real comfy while they're waitin and can just lay back and stare into the sky without gettin a crick in their necks once the excitement starts. Why some folks even bring their pets with them... although personally I think that's a real bad idea what with all the people and the noise and the booms and the shouts... pretty soon those animals are just runnin everywhere with their owners chasing after them tryin to catch them before they end up in the pool or even running through somebody else's picnic set up. This year somebody even brought their pet Nauga. Now I'm not one to say that a body shouldn't have their pick of pets... but ifn you bring a "pet" Nauga to a place where there's food and blankets, and clothing, and all sorts of other edibles then you have got to get a tight hold on that lease... if you thought to harness the Nauga at all. And these folks didn't. Don't matter how well behaved you might think a Nauga is at home where you can control the environment... once you get into a crowded place with all those temptations... well let's just say that all that Nauga probably saw was a Nauga smorgasbord all laid out just for it.

That "pet" Nauga took one look at all that stuff just waitin for it and it did what any self respecting Nauga would do... it took off at high speed and started to eat. You could tell where it was by the sudden surge in shouting and cursing and all sorts of commotion coming from a particular part of the fairground. Even then, folks probably would have been OK with it ifn that Nauga hadn't found its way over to the fireworks prep area right about the time they started to fire them off after nightfall.

Well all I know is there was a bunch of loud noises over there followed by a whole bunch of fireworks goin off at the same time. Yes sir... them fireworks just started goin off in all directions. People started duckin and runnin and screamin and hollerin as things started flyin past them and explodin just overhead. Some folks swear they even saw one particular big firework soar on by with something that looked like a Nauga strapped on. All I can say is that they never did find that Nauga... although they did find some suspicious looking pieces of something down on the other side of the big barn the next day. I suppose they'll put a ban on bringing pets... or at least Naugas... to the fireworks next year. Can't blame them I suppose. It did add to the excitement though...

Well that's it for now. Maybe next week I'll get back to tellin more about the fishing trip. 'Til next time. Jon