048_2_2 Charlie Brown, Auburn, July 4 2008
Charlie Brown, Democratic candidate for northern California's 4 th Congressional district, walks his 4th parade of the day Friday evening in Auburn July 4, 2008, with the Auburn Area Democratic Club.
I went to three of them. This was the one my family participated in. I decided after looking at all my pictures that Auburn was worth its own photo diary. Sometimes you see something just goofy and endearing enough that you don't want any Republicans messing it up... did somebody say Republican? I didn't see that guy there. We'll stick him in his own story later.
1187 start Auburn
Auburn Area Democratic Club Volunteers lining up with Charlie and Jan Brown before the start of the 4th of July Parade.
We totally lucked out this year on the weather conditions. It was at least 25 degrees cooler than last year's 107º, and the prevailing winds were taking the wildfire smoke from hundreds of fires burning in the state away from us so we could breathe. The float trailer was hauled down from Colfax the night before, and then decorated that morning.
I had already gone to Lincoln that morning and Roseville that afternoon. I made the mistake of leaning back on the couch after a very late lunch, and my husband awoke me at 4:15 pm and said I needed to take the truck up to Auburn and he'd follow in the car after doing a few more things.... it's 24 miles of mountain road and I'm supposed to be there at 5 pm to put the float in the lineup for a 7pm start. Oy vey. Haul butt. Take super special frightening logging truck route and make it up there by 5:20 pm.
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0385 Yes We Can
Yes We Can Fit All these People In This Float
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Upon looking at where the inanimate objects were arranged in the trailer, like about 700 lbs worth of straw and barrels, I then caused a mini crisis by insisting some of it be moved forward so we could get some weight on the tongue of the trailer and off the back. I had hitched the trailer and didn't like how it balanced. This was accompanied by much gesturing on my part about the grade of the 2 hills on the route, especially the last one, and emphasizing that I didn't want any one falling out of the thing if it bounced. They decided to put most of the humans in the front because they were insisting the wine barrels had to go in the back. I thought about flying things and decided the wine barrels could take a bounce better and left them back there, but compromised and tied down everything I could find with accessory twine we have in the truck.
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1189 Roll On
And they're off ! The Auburn Area Democratic Club float starts down the hill from the parade staging area July 4, 2008, around 7 pm.
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Notice how everybody got themselves lower to the floor suddenly once the thing started to move.
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1193_2_2 Down the Hill
This is the parade route thru old town Auburn. Charlie Brown is walking in front of the truck on the right hand side, in the light blue/grey shirt.
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1193 Vegetables Up !
Left hand side of the float. The artist who designed it is in the black "Got Hope?" tee shirt at the artist' easel near the front, next to the child portraying the eggplant. The nearby town of Loomis has an Eggplant Festival every year and Auburn has a Mandarin festival in the Fall. Placer county has a lot of small scale sustainable agriculture and is famous for its mandarin orange orchards, almonds, grapes, honey, and apples. And its mountain rivers.
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0397_2 Tomato
Carrot, Tomato, Gardener, Kayak& paddle, Vintner, Wine Barrels
The evening shade was pretty dark where I took this picture and the colors are a bit off because I had to lighten it quite a bit.
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1192 Change
Change We Can Believe In (former mayor and mrs waving to the crowd)
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0392 Buy Local
Front of the AADC entry, Buy Local, Vote Local
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0399 have a sticker
Our campaign phone bankers are very versatile.
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1195 Charlie Brown saying hi
So is our candidate. This man is on his 4th parade today.
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0400 little miss
Little Miss Auburn
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0402 charlie, jan
Charlie and Jan and parade watchers greeting each other
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0407 lady red shirt
People watching the parade
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0393
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0394
When we did this parade last year, in 2007, it was the most amazing thing to see a person who had just lost a political race (Brown ran for the same office in 2006 and lost to the Republican incumbent by 3 percentage points ) being greeted along a parade route like an old friend again and again. Now I'm more used to it but it is still an amazing thing.
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0409 couple in lawnchairs
This couple is enjoying the parade
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0423 tobi horse
Horses and riders. The woman on the chestnut horse with the blaze, 2nd from the left, in red tee shirt and cowboy hat is riding bareback, altho it is not visible from this angle.
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0415 gymnasts
The Auburn Gymnasts were behind us. If you look carefully, some of them are wearing gloves. I walked the entire route. Some of them did this cartwheeling sort of routine the entire route.
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Pony rider with excellent form, woman on white Andulusian Horse.
This is near the end of the parade route, before it turned left into the Auburn Gold Country Fairgrounds.
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408_2_2 End
Sunset. Placer County Sheriff's Dept Mounted Patrol following the AADC Float out of the Fairgrounds. The End.
Hope you enjoyed visiting our town this evening. : )
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photos by diary author.
cross posted at eenrblog.com