'Now that's the Fourth of July'

Golly, what a Fourth of July! That's what people were saying yesterday around Annapolis as a gentle breeze blew through town and the city put on an Independence Day parade that got folks talking.

Even the gods of mayhem cooperated, according to county Fire Department spokeswoman Capt. Debbie Bowen.

"It has been quieter today than any weekend I've had during the year," she said last night.

Earlier in the evening, Annapolis Mayor Ellen O. Moyer was jubilant about the holiday.

"It is our birthday, and you always celebrate a birthday," Moyer said in an interview before the parade started.

On West Street, a group of little boys sat on the sidewalk playing a card game as they waited for the 6:30 p.m. parade to start, while a block down the street a little girl was figuring out how to make the holes in her Crocs serve as a flag holder.

Teenagers sat on curbs with their feet in the street, while older viewers sat in lawn chairs or found an unoccupied stretch of retaining wall.

"That's the best parade I've seen here in years," said Tyreus Brown Sr., 40, who grew up in the Parole area and now lives in Glen Burnie.

Brown had a number of children with him, some of them relatives, some of them family friends.

"Every year I bring the kids so they will know their history," Brown said.

"The firetrucks!" one of the youngsters, 6-year-old Byron Ireland Jr., of Annapolis Gardens, said when asked his favorite part of the parade.

"The police!" countered his sidekick, Camerin Stevenson, of Newtowne 20, who said he "will be 5 in two days."

A third child, Kenneth Turner, who is "turning 9 soon" and is from Annapolis Gardens, gave a more basic reason for liking the parade: "The candy!"

There were lots of dogs in the parade, and some of their antics made people laugh, along with so many politicians it was nearly impossible to keep count.

"You certainly have a lot of people running for mayor," a woman from Utah said.

The woman, Debbie Johnson, said her son graduated from the Naval Academy 12 years ago, and her family still likes to take vacations in Annapolis.

"I loved the parade; it was a small-town parade," she said.

The parade did have a political tone to it. One Republican group, for example, had a homemade float built in the shape of a boat named the USS Tax 'N' Spend. On the other side of the political divide, Mike Miller, a member of the Eastport Democratic Club, drove a Dodge van with a red, white and blue paint scheme and "Vote for Change" emblazoned on it, along with "Obama."

"We have been thinking about taking the colors off, but I couldn't do it," he said.

Among the city leaders who participated were Alderman Richard Israel, D-Ward 1, who rode past in a classic burgundy Chevy Corvair convertible, and Alderman Fred Paone, R-Ward 2, who glided along atop a cherry-red Mercedes convertible.

Some of the politicians said they had appeared at earlier neighborhood gatherings yesterday, including a parade in West Annapolis.

Several cars in the Annapolis parade were packed with pageant winners, including Mrs. Maryland United States Ginny Meerman, an Edgewater resident who described herself as "close to 50" but determined to stay fit.

"It is a lot of work, but it is well worth it," said Meerman, who added, "I am going to win Mrs. USA on July 22 in (Las) Vegas."

Someone drove a splendid 1903 curved-dash Oldsmobile in the parade, and just behind him were about 12 members of the Annapolis Pony Club.

One of the largest groups in the parade was the Falun Dafa Performing Arts Organization from Washington, D.C., a traditional Chinese cultural group that had an estimated 100 dancers and musicians.

City Recreation and Parks Director LeAnn Plummer, who was responsible for organizing the parade, said 54 floats or other type of entries participated.

She said everyone participated in the parade without compensation, and the budget was "zero."

One city employee who drove a trolly in the parade, bus driver Melvin Clark, said he has driven in many parades during his almost 28 years with the city.

"I enjoy it," he said. "And after I get off, I'll get me a cold beer and some crabs; now that's the Fourth of July."