Back in West Hartford

I arrived in West Hartford (Connecticut) last night to live with my parents while I do CPE (Clinical Pastoral Education - aka, a hospital chaplaincy internship) at St. Francis Hospital. It's a Catholic hospital that bought the Jewish hospital and the program's run by an Episcopal priest - we'll see how ecumenical/inter-faith it is once I get there....tomorrow!

This morning I got a good dose of West Hartford at the annual Memorial Day parade. Now, I marched in this parade a lot as a kid -- as flag bearer, a cheerleader (yes, it's true - 7th grade), and probably other things. My parents still go every year, and so I said, "sure, why not!" Parades are strange -- and memorial day parades in particular. It felt like a protest, but without the chanting and with a very different message. 

It was a loooooooong parade - girl scout troops from practically every elementary school (sometimes multiple troops from each school, including brownies & daisies), at least two or three different baseball leagues (many teams each in uniform, including the Indians - which still amazes me in 2008), some boy scouts, a bunch of veterans (including 3-4 military police vehicles with young guys in them-I'm guessing they're still in the service), the local elected officials (including the Mayor pictured herewho graduated from high school when I did!), the boys & girls' lacrosse teams, Relay for Life (some walk against cancer), a contingent of friends-of-the-dog-park, and, luckily, 5 marching bands (the 3 middle schools and the 2 high schools --they all looked so young!!!).

I never go to stuff like this in the Bay, and it was kinda fun to be out with gobs of people on an absolutely gorgeous day watching lots of cute kids with my parents and family friends (whose son is my age and was there with his 2 kids). Yet I'm not into the Memorial Day love-America[sic]-fest. Watching the 3 year old cheer with his American[sic] flag as the military humvees drove by highlights the indoctrination that these events are really about. I do think it's important to honor those who serve as we protest militarism and war, particularly as someone who's quite removed from the realities of military service and its impact on families. But I can do without a Memorial Day Parade that glorifies the military rather than those who serve. It's neat to see lots of the community out, but I have to believe that there are other ways for communities to come together and celebrate life.

The parade also highlighted the state of racial diversity in town. I remember WH as mostly white, and it certainly is. Of the 3 or 4 brownie troops from my elementary school, I was pleasantly surprised to see one that was really multi-racial (though the others were mostly white). I think there is more racial diversity here now than when I grew up, but you wouldn't know it from watching the parade. Census 2000 says it's about 86% white, 5% each Black & API, and 6% "Hispanic", and 4% mixed & other races.

This is where I am for the summer! It's beautiful and comfortable and oh-so-different from my life in the Bay!