Six Chairs Waiting

Six chairs waiting for the 4th of July parade, that is.

Backstory: Each Independence Day, Catonsville -- my hometown -- holds a big parade down its main street. It's a huge event, with many marching bands, military units, federal, state, and local politicians, drum corps, flags, etc. This is followed at night by a fireworks display that I think is one of the best in the area. People come from all over to see these events, which leads to capacity crowds.

Several days in advance of the parade, one will start to see chairs lining the parade route. The chairs come in every imaginable variety from dilapidated wrecks to modest plastic molded pieces, and are placed 'first come, first served' irrespective of the locale. (The six chairs in the first photo were in front of the Post Office.) This year, chairs started to appear about three weeks before the parade, following a trend where they appear earlier each successive year starting around 2002. There's quite a lot of debate on whether this habit is a good thing or a bad one for the community; frankly, I don't care too much, because they provide interesting subjects for photography. Take a look!

Thanks for viewing, and please take a moment to share your thoughts.

Happy Birthday USA,

Bob